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PRINCETON    .    NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

Estiace   of   Rockwell   S.    Brank 


BV  3457  .H46  G74  1913 
Griffis,  William  Elliot, 

1843-1928. 
Hepburn  of  Japan  and  his 

wife  and  helpmates 


DR.    JAMES    CURTIS   HEPBURN 

At  95  years 


Hepburn  of  Jap i 

and  His  Wife  and  Helpmates 
A  Life  Story  of  Toil  for  Christ 


OCT 


9    1947 


By 

William  Elliot  Grijis,  D.D.,  L.H.D. 

Author  of  "  The  Mikadoes  Empire'^  "  Brave  Little 

Holland,"  "  Verbeck  of  Japan"  and 

"A  Modern  Pioneer  i^i  Korea  " 


The  Westminster  Press 
Philadelphia 

19^3 


COPYRIGHT,     I913 
BY    WILLIAM    ELLIOT    GRIFFIS 


THE-PLIMPTON'PRE8S 
NOR  WOOD -MASS'U'S'A 


DEDICATED 

IN   SINCERE   APPRECIATION   OF   THE 

SECOND   GENERATION   OF   CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES 

IN   JAPAN 

ESPECIALLY   TO   THE   SONS   AND   DAUGHTERS 

WHO  THRUST   IN   THE   SICKLE 
WHERE   THEIR   PARENTS   CAST   IN   THE   SEED 

NISI  DOMINUS  FRUSTRA 


PREFACE 

OF  the  four  great  pioneers  of  the  gospel  and 
Christian  civilization  in  Japan,  Verbeck, 
Brown,  Hepburn  and  Williams,  this  volume 
completes  the  biography  of  that  one  who  was  second 
on  the  ground  and  possibly  the  first  in  general  useful- 
ness. America's  greatest  gift  to  Japan  was  in  these 
men.  I  knew  them  all,  during  four  years  in  the 
Mikado's  empire,  as  neighbors,  friends  and  fellow 
workers,  in  perils  and  in  joys.  Though  not  technically 
a  missionary — my  calling  being  that  of  an  educational 
pioneer  —  I  loved  and  rejoiced  in  their  work,  as  if 
one  of  them.  From  1870  until  Dr.  Hepburn's 
decease  in  191 1,  we  were  always  friends,  and  also 
occasional  correspondents. 

But  without  that  noble  work  of  God,  the  "help 
meet  for  him,"  there  would  have  been  no  such  Dr. 
Hepburn,  as  all  Japan  and  we  his  friends  knew,  and 
so  I  have  in  this  volume  much  to  say  about  Mrs. 
Hepburn. 

She  wrote  me,  on  March  21,  1895,  concerning  her 
husband,  as  follows: 

"I  think  you  have  understood  him.  His  modest, 
unselfish  life  leads  him  more  and  more  to  keep  in  the 


PREFACE 

background.  The  work  he  has  been  permitted  to  do 
for  his  dear  Master  has  brought  its  own  reward.  I 
think  he  might  adopt  the  words  of  Bonar,  'The 
things  we  have  lived  for,  let  them  be  our  story,  and 
we  be  best  remembered  by  what  we  have  done.'  .  .  . 
If  anyone  is  to  write  of  Dr.  Hepburn,  when  his 
work  is  done,  I  know  of  no  one  I  would  rather  should 
do  it  than  yourself." 

So,  after  the  Doctor's  decease,  at  the  invitation 
and  request  of  his  only  son,  Mr.  Samuel  Hepburn, 
who,  in  his  father's  home,  showed  me,  and  afterwards 
sent,  all  the  available  diaries  and  documents  left  by 
his  father,  I  took  up  the  congenial  task  of  sketching 
the  life  of  my  friend  —  a  true  American  to  the  back- 
bone, a  loyal  samurai  of  Jesus,  a  lover  of  all  mankind. 
Amid  many  labors  pressing  upon  me,  this  particular 
one  has  afforded  indescribable  pleasure,  in  living  over 
old  days  in  the  Princess  country.  I  have  enjoyed 
telling  also  about  some  of  the  Doctor's  fellow  Chris- 
tian samurai,  as  loyal  to  their  divine  Master  as  he 
was.  Dai  Nippon's  shining  record  of  noble  charac- 
ters is  rich,  but  none  have  exceeded  in  the  graces  of 
true  chivalry,  in  real  courage,  and  in  the  loftiest  phases 
of  Bushido,  the  Christian  leaders  of  the  New  Japan. 
Laus  Deo! 

My  Japanese  friends  must  excuse  me  for  clinging 
to  the  ancient  and  honorable  term  Mikado  —  symbol 
of  all  things  great  in  Japanese  history  and  radiant 
with  the  undimmed  luster  of  ages.  I  have  never 
quite  forgiven  them  for  dropping  this  august  native 


PREFACE 

term,  and  adopting  in  its  place  the  Latin  expression, 
"Emperor,"  which,  to  a  true  American,  savors  of 
despotism  and  even  cruelty,  which  has  been  linked  with 
many  unsavory  historical  associations  and  upon  which 
no  genuine  American  can  lavish  respect.  If,  also,  I 
say  "native"  when  I  mean  Japanese,  it  is  because  in 
our  land  we  are  not  ashamed  of  the  word,  and  also 
because  the  English  language  has  its  rights. 

From  Hepburn  may  there  ever  be  in  Japan  a  true 
apostolical  succession  of  zealous,  loyal,  diHgent  and 
self-effacing  servants  of  Jesus. 

W.  E.  G. 

Ithaca,  N.  Y. 
Era  of  Taisei,  first  year,  sixth  month,  thirty-first  day. 
A.D.  1913,  March  31. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Introduction 3 

CHAPTER 

I.    A  Happy  Boyhood ii 

II.    Life  at  Princeton  College 14 

III.  The  Great  Decision 20 

IV.  Eastward  —  A  Voyage  of  the  Soul     ...  27 
V.    In  the  Island  World  of  Asia 39 

VI.    In  the  Dutch  East  Indies 46 

VII.    Inhospitable  China 53 

VIII.    The  Metropolitan  Physician      64 

IX.    Japan:  The  Land  of  a  Million  Swords     .  76 
X.    Kanagawa:  Pioneer  of  Science  and  Edu- 
cation    88 

XI.    At  Yokohama.    A  Master  of  System  ...  99 

XII.    "A  Good  Wife  Is  of  the  Lord" iii 

XIII.  The  Golden  Key 123 

XIV.  A  Railway  Through  the  National  Intel- 

lect    137 

XV.    Unceasing  Industry 150 

XVI.    The  Completed  Bible  in  Japanese  ....  160 

XVII.    A  Samurai  of  Jesus 168 

XVIII.    The  Story  of  the  Churches 177 

XIX.    Two  Noble  Monuments 183 

XX.    Farewell  to  Japan 189 

XXI.    Rest  After  Toil 199 

XXII.    Multiplied  Honors 208 

XXIII.  The  Transformation  of  Half  a  Century  .  216 

XXIV.  The  Tolling  Bell 228 

Index 233 


LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Dr.  James  Curtis  Hepburn  at  95  years     .      .      .    Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Surabaya,  on  the  Island  of  Java 42 

A  Native  Church,  Dutch  East  Indies 49 

A  Heathen  Temple,  China 59 

On  the  Tokaido 73 

First  Residence  of  American  Missionaries      ....  90 

Dr.  Hepburn's  House,  Yokahoma loi 

In  a  Japanese  Naval  Hospital 105 

Chinese  Girls  of  Upper  Class  Studying  in  Japan  (1908)  .  113 

Mrs.  Hepburn 120 

In  a  modern  Japanese  Operating  Room 124 

Dr.  Hepburn  in  1880 146 

The  Mikado 157 

Okuno 168 

Union  Church  at  Yokahoma 180 

The  Meiji  Gaku-in  and  Chapel 184 

Dr.  Hepburn  at  78  years 200 

Memorial  Tablets 214 

Where  New  Japan  Was  Born 220 

In  Old  Japan;  In  New  Japan 223 


Hepburn  of  Japan 

and  His  If^ife  and  Helpmates 


Hepburn  of  Japan 

and  His   Wife  and  Helpmates 
INTRODUCTION 

SEEN    IN    PERSPECTIVE 

PERRY  won  political  Japan  from  a  hermit  life, 
but  Hepburn  opened  the  Japanese  heart. 
Townsend  Harris  began  the  commercial,  and 
American  missionaries  the  educational,  invasion  of 
the  Mikado's  empire. 

When  on  September  22,  191 1,  the  newspapers  of 
Japan  printed  with  headlines  this  official  telegram 
sent  by  Baron  Uchida,  the  Mikado's  ambassador  at 
Washington : 

Dr.  James  Curtis  Hepburn  died  Thursday  morning,  December 
21,  1911, 

there  were  some  who  wondered  why  this  message 
was  sent.  How  was  it,  that  while  great  and  notable 
men  in  America  might  pass  away  without  official 
notice,  a  private  citizen  in  New  Jersey  should  be 
thus  honored? 

In  Japan,  a  sense  of  grief,  with  sincere  mourning, 
as  of  the  loss  of  the  nation's  best  foreign  friend,  per- 
vaded the   court   and  nation.     All  over  the  empire 

[31 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

the  press,  taking  up  the  refrain,  printed  the  news,  and 
made  extended  explanation  and  commentary. 

Old  residents  of  Nippon,  from  many  countries  of 
Europe  or  America,  or  those  returned  home  from 
former  labors,  had  no  need  of  any  explanation; 
while  among  the  natives  at  large,  but  more  especially 
in  eastern  Japan,  myriads  of  people  would  have  felt 
insulted  if  asked  whether  they  could  tell  who  their 
dear  Dr.  Hepburn  was.  "Kun-shi"  —  the  superior 
man,  the  gentleman,  was  the  word  of  affectionate 
admiration  which  came  at  once  to  their  lips.  Thou- 
sands, living,  gratefully  remembered  him  as  the  kind 
physician  who  had  healed  their  diseases,  and  perhaps 
restored  their  eyesight.  Others,  of  the  newer  genera- 
tion, recalled  the  beaming  countenances  and  tones  of 
reverent  gratitude,  in  parents  or  grandparents, 
who  had  been  healed  or  helped  by  the  American, 
whose  name  was  to  them  as  a  household  word.  Added 
to  these  were  Japanese  ambassadors,  statesmen  and 
leading  men  in  the  social  and  commercial  world,  who 
had  known  the  Doctor  as  their  friend,  neighbor,  or 
teacher.  Throughout  the  membership  of  the  medical 
and  scientific  bodies  of  educated  men,  in  Tokyo  and 
elsewhere,  there  was  a  keen  sense  of  personal  loss, 
even  while  they  paid  tribute  to  this  pioneer  of  science 
in  the  Land  of  Peaceful  Shores. 

Especially  in  the  Christian  churches  was  memory 
active.  Many  were  the  joyous  reminiscences,  public 
memorial  meetings,  interchanges  by  word  and  letter, 
and  tributes  in  various  forms,  to  one  long  called  in 

[41 


SEEN    IN    PERSPECTIVE 

popular  estimation  "The  Nation's  Friend."  In  the 
Sunny  Isles  the  memory  of  Hepburn  is  as  enduring 
as  are  the  evergreens  on  the  richly  clad  mountains. 

When  the  pilgrim  had  left  behind  him  earthly 
cares  for  his  long  home,  he  had  seen  all  but  three  of 
the  years  of  a  century.  One  may  divide  his  life's 
record  into  five  parts:  (i)  the  training  in  youth  and 
early  manhood,  which  fitted  him  to  be  a  healer  of  the 
bodies  and  souls  of  men  (1815-1840);  (2)  his  career 
as  a  missionary  physician,  in  China  and  the  Far 
East,  when  the  Middle  Kingdom  was  inhospitable 
and  Japan  was  as  yet  a  sealed  book  (1840-1846); 
(3)  his  work  as  practicing  physician  in  New  York 
City  (1846-1859);  (4)  his  later  service  of  thirty-three 
years  as  teacher,  healer,  lexicographer,  translator, 
saint  and  father,  in  the  Mikado's  empire  (1859- 
1892) ;  and  (5)  his  nineteen  years  in  the  sunny  after- 
noon of  life,  as  church  officer  and  philanthropist  at 
East  Orange,  New  Jersey,  (1892-1911). 

Hepburn  was  a  wonderful  man,  yet  in  some  respects 
a  unique  character.  By  temperament  as  timid  as  a 
child,  he  was,  in  facing  difficulties,  as  bold  as  a  knight 
in  steel.  Again  and  again  have  I  heard  him  talk,  in 
the  face  of  some  great  danger  or  problem,  as  if  under 
deep  forebodings  of  disaster.  One  would  think,  in 
listening  to  him  talk  of  himself,  that  he  had  hardly 
the  courage  of  a  kitten.  Yet  he  never  feared  the 
assassin  or  his  blade,  and  in  real  valor  outshone  the 
samurai  with  his  brace  of  swords.  Those  who  knew 
his  clear  vision  of  God,  his  keen  sense  of  the  heavenly 

[51 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

Father's  abiding  presence  and  his  trust  in  the  literal 
reality  of  the  divine  promises,  never  expected  Hep- 
bum  to  flinch  when  any  lion  of  danger  stood  in  the 
way.  Nor  were  they  disappointed.  Armed  with  the 
strength  of  God,  this  man  of  faith  knew  no  fear. 
His  trust  in  the  eternal  Reality  increased  and  his 
courage  grew  with  years.  Long  experience  taught 
him  that  most  of  life's  troubles,  when  one  faces  them 
boldly,  are  imaginary,  and  that  to  the  Christian,  the 
powers  that  fight  for  the  child  of  God  and  for  right- 
eousness are  ever  greater  than  those  arrayed  against 
truth  and  them  that  believe.  The  ''mountain  sides," 
in  Hepburn's  landscape  of  faith,  were  ever  "white 
with  many  an  angel  tent." 

So  it  actually  came  to  pass  that  this  timid,  shrinking 
gentleman,  this  "little  dried-up  old  man"  as  some 
thought  of  him  —  and  the  words  are  his  own  —  was 
an  absolutely  fearless  soldier,  when  the  bugles  of 
duty  sounded.  More  than  this,  he  was  an  inspira- 
tion to  others,  ever  effective  to  "strengthen  the 
wavering  line." 

Hepburn  knew  —  and  I  have  heard  him  joke 
about  it  —  that  his  physical  frame  was  slight  and  his 
health  far  from  robust.  In  fact,  he  chuckled  at  the 
truth  contained  in  the  funny  words  of  Dr.  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes  —  a  "little  old  gentleman"  like 
himself  —  as  well  as  in  those  of  Scripture,  that  in  the 
long  run  of  life,  "the  race  is  not  to  the  swift  or  the 
battle  to  the  strong."  The  Yankee  healer  once 
wrote  out  a  sure  receipt  for  longevity.    In  effect,  it 


SEEN    IN    PERSPECTIVE 

prescribed  that  a  man  should  have  some  incurable 
disease;  so  that,  while  the  physicians  were  chronically 
at  work,  feeHng  his  pulse  and  pounding  his  lungs  to 
sound  them,  the  patient  would  take  care  of  himself 
and  live  to  a  good  old  age.  Meanwhile,  the  under- 
takers might  grow  prosperous  because  men  who 
boasted  of  their  "iron  constitution"  were  called 
away  often  and  early.  It  was  once  said  of  a  Schenec- 
tady clergyman,  by  a  learned  professor  in  Union 
College,  that  he  "would  always  have  something  the 
matter  with  him,  and  yet  outHve  us  all."  So  Dr. 
Hepburn,  starting  in  life  without  robustness  and 
apparently  always  afflicted  more  or  less  with  physi- 
cal troubles  of  some  kind,  died  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
seven.  I  remember  that  he  complained  of  his  ills 
only  when  we  could  direct  the  conversation  upon 
himself  —  never  otherwise.  Not  a  few  of  his  letters 
tell  the  tale  of  a  variety  of  physical  discomforts  borne 
patiently. 

Nineteen  years  before  he  passed  away,  he  wrote 
in  one  of  his  many  letters  to  me:  "I  am  just  about 
to  make  a  journey  to  Germany  with  my  wife,  seeking 
for  health.  I  have  been  suffering  for  the  last  three 
years  with  neuralgia  and  rheumatism  in  my  back 
and  legs,  so  as  to  be  quite  disabled  from  walking  more 
than  a  short  distance.  Every  spring,  for  three  years 
past,  it  seems  to  have  attacked  my  feet,  this  spring 
with  increased  severity,  so  that  I  have  been  laid  up 
now  in  the  house  and  not  able  to  put  on  anything  but 
the  loosest  slipper  for  nearly  five  weeks." 

[7] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

At  another  time,  when  about  ninety  years  of  age, 
he  wrote,  telling  me  of  the  woes  that  had  come  to 
him  from  the  grippe.  All  his  previous  pains  seemed 
to  have  concentrated  in  his  head,  while  suffering 
from  "a  misfit  skull."  Yet  seven  years  more  of  life 
were  borne  with  a  merry  twinkle  in  his  eye. 

All  this  reveals  the  fact  that  this  superb  knight  of 
God,  this  samurai  of  Jesus,  obtained  his  greatest 
triumphs  over  himself.  Gigantic  as  might  have 
seemed  the  difficulties  from  without,  he  was  a  victor 
over  the  infirmities  within.  His  mastery  of  Malay 
and  Chinese,  his  wrestling  with  an  insular  language, 
when  no  grammar  nor  dictionary  existed,  the  compil- 
ing of  a  colossal  dictionary,  the  translation  of  the 
divine  Word  into  a  tongue  but  ill  fitted  for  spiritual 
treasures,  his  work  as  oculist,  surgeon  and  medical 
factotum,  the  daily  drudgery  of  the  dispensary,  and 
the  bearing  of  the  burdens  of  a  pastor  —  in  fact, 
though  not  in  name  —  all  these  were  victories  won 
outside  of  himself,  while  all  the  time  his  chief  triumph 
was  over  himself. 

There  was  little  in  Hepburn's  temperament,  for 
example,  like  that  of  Appenzeller  of  Korea,  Verbeck 
of  Japan,  or  S.  R.  Brown,  "a  maker  of  the  New 
Orient."  In  fascinating  variety  and  strong  contrast 
were  the  personalities  of  such  giants  in  the  missionary 
pioneer  work,  as  Legge,  Williamson,  McCartee, 
Nathan  Brown,  Williams,  Greene,  and  others,  whom 
the  writer  knew  intimately,  and  with  a  familiarity 
that  bred  no  contempt.     Most  superbly  does  Provi- 


SEEN    IN    PERSPECTIVE 

dence  fit  men  for  their  work  and  put  each  into  his 
niche. 

In  his  cast  of  mind,  Hepburn  was  severely  con- 
servative. Despite  his  amazing  industry  and  con- 
stant discipline  of  service,  he  never  entered  into  the 
world  of  modern  criticism.  His  erudition  and  scholar- 
ship, wonderful  as  they  were,  can  hardly  be  said  to 
have  passed  into  the  promised  land  of  the  most 
modern  science,  or  of  critical  history,  or  of  that 
theology,  which,  based  on  the  direct  teaching  of  Jesus, 
is  rapidly  freeing  itself  from  merely  scholastic  and 
medieval  trammels.  Yet  Hepburn's  insight  into  the 
eternal  truths  was  something  quite  independent  both 
of  any  opinions  in  any  particular  era  in  the  world's 
history,  or  of  a  temperament  based  on  physical 
accidents  of  heredity  or  environment.  Ever  seeking 
his  life  out  of  himself  in  God,  he  was  apparently 
indifferent  to  changing  views  and  opinions,  even 
while  kindly  tolerant  to  those  who  differed  from  him. 
With  the  ignorant,  conceited,  or  impetuous,  instead 
of  magisterial  haughtiness,  he  held  rather  the  attitude 
of  a  discerning  physician  of  souls. 

In  1 88 1,  as  he  wrote  me:  "The  Christian  work 
(in  Japan)  moves  on  under  many  difficulties.  Some 
of  our  native  pastors  give  us  much  trouble  and 
anxiety.  There  is  still  the  old  dislilie  for  for 
eigners  and  a  desire  to  manage  things  themselves, 
not  knowing  that  they  are  ignorant,  narrow-minded, 
and  that  self  reigns  within  them.  Christianity  will 
have  to  fight  a  battle  here  of  peculiar  character." 

[9] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

Verily  Hepburn  was  a  seer  and  a  prophet! 

Ever  full  of  cheer  and  encouragement,  he  was  far 
from  being  a  flatterer,  and  the  best  natives  appre- 
ciated this.  One  of  the  best  traits  of  the  Japanese 
is  that,  when  honest  men,  who  detest  flattery  and 
cajolery  —  men  in  whom  they  trust  —  show  them 
their  faults,  they  in  the  long  run  learn  to  set  high 
value  upon  the  judgment  of  their  critical  friends. 
"Not  joyous  but  grievous,"  such  wholesome  truth- 
telling  in  the  end,  "yieldeth  peaceable  fruit  unto  them 
that  have  been  exercised  thereby,  even  the  fruit  of 
righteousness." 

Clad  in  a  mantle  of  intense  moral  courage,  wrought 
of  the  finest  fiber,  in  the  looms  of  a  profound  spirit- 
uality, Hepburn  illustrated  what  a  famous  Puritan 
woman  said  of  her  husband.  Col.  Hutchinson: 

"It  was  indeed  a  great  instruction  that  the  best 
and  highest  courages  are  but  the  beams  of  the  Al- 
mighty; and  when  he  withholds  his  influence  the 
brave  turn  cowards,  fear  unnerves  the  most  mighty, 
makes  the  most  generous  base,  and  great  men  to  do 
those  things  they  blush  to  think  on  when  God  again 
inspires;  the  fearful  and  the  feeble  see  no  dangers, 
believe  no  difficulties,  and  carry  on  the  attempt, 
whose  very  thought  would  at  another  time  shiver 
their  joints  like  ague." 

With  Hepburn,  life  was  "the  energy  of  Love." 


10 


A  HAPPY  BOYHOOD 

JAMES  CURTIS  HEPBURN  came  of  Scotch- 
Irish  stock  on  his  father's  side  and  of  English 
stock  on  his  mother's  side.  Samuel  Hepburn, 
his  great-grandfather,  left  Belfast,  Ireland,  in  May, 
1773.  Having  emigrated  with  his  family  to  America, 
he  settled  in  1784  at  Northumberland,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  died  in  1795,  at  the  age  of  97. 

His  son,  James  Hepburn,  born  in  Belfast,  March 
28,  1747,  married  Mary  Hopewell  of  Mount  Holly, 
New  Jersey,  in  1781,  and  died  in  Northumberland, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1817,  leaving  three  daughters  and 
seven  sons;  of  whom  Samuel,  the  father  of  the  mis- 
sionary physician,  was  the  eldest.  Samuel  was  bom 
in  Philadelphia  in  1782,  and  died  at  Lock  Haven, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1865. 

He  was  graduated  at  Princeton  College  in  1803 
and  made  his  home  in  Milton,  Pennsylvania,  until  a 
few  years  before  his  death,  when  he  removed  to  Lock 
Haven.  As  a  citizen  and  lawyer,  he  was  well  known 
and  highly  respected.  He  married  Ann  Clay,  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  Slaytor  Clay,  of  whom  one  may  read  a 
brief  notice  in  Sprague's  Annals  of  the  American 

[11] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

Pulpit,  Vol.  V,  p.  355.  Of  this  union  were  born  five 
daughters  and  two  sons,  the  oldest  son  and  next 
oldest  of  the  children  being  the  future  benefactor  of 
Japan.  Another  son,  the  Rev.  Slaytor  Clay  Hep- 
bum,  was  long  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  church,  at 
Hamptonburgh,  Orange  County,  New  York. 

The  future  missionary,  born  at  Milton,  Pennsyl- 
vania, on  March  13,  181 5,  was  brought  up  in  his 
birthplace.  His  home  was  his  first  and  best  school 
and  his  mother  the  teacher  of  teachers  to  him. 

How  he  was  trained  in  the  home  the  Doctor  told 
himself,  in  a  letter  to  the  biographer,  in  1881. 

"My  father  and  mother  were  both  humble  Chris- 
tians, bringing  up  their  children  (five  daughters  and 
two  sons)  to  fear  God,  to  respect  and  love  the  Sab- 
bath day,  to  go  to  church,  to  read  the  Bible  and 
commit  to  memory  the  Shorter  Catechism.  My 
mother  was  especially  interested  in  foreign  missions. 
She  took  the  *  Missionary  Herald '  and  the  '  New  York 
Observer,'  as  far  back  as  I  can  remember.  I  always 
read  these  papers  with  interest.  In  these  early 
days,  while  a  boy,  I  sat  under  the  ministry  of  Rev. 
George  Juiikin,  a  most  earnest,  godly  man  and 
zealous  in  every  good  work." 

"Curtis,"  as  his  wife  always,  in  later  years  at  least, 
called  him,  was  fortunate  in  his  teachers.  This  was 
the  day  of  the  American  academies,  which  trained  so 
many  men  for  public  and  professional  life.  The 
Milton  Academy  was  then  under  the  care  of  the 
Rev.  David  Kirkpatrick,  an  Irishman,  and  a  graduate 

[12] 


A    HAPPY    BOYHOOD 

of  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  While  under  his 
care,  the  Milton  Academy,  a  celebrated  institution, 
sent  forth  many  of  those  who  became  some  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  of  the  Keystone  State. 

Men  went  to  college  early  in  those  days,  and  at 
fourteen  James  Curtis  was  ready  for  Princeton.  In 
the  spring  of  183 1,  he  made  his  journey  to  the  college 
of  New  Jersey  by  stage— there  being  no  railways. 
He  was  graduated  in  the  autumn  of  1832  when  "so 
young  as  to  lose  most  of  the  advantages  of  a  college 
education,"  as  the  doctor  wrote  me  in  1881. 

It  took  seventy-two  hours  to  travel  from  Milton 
to  Princeton,  which  then  had  five  or  six  college  build- 
ings, the  main  building,  Nassau  Hall,  being  a  dormi- 
tory. "There  was  a  dining  hall  in  another  building, 
where  all  the  students  had  their  meals.  There  were 
two  tables,  a  different  price  of  board  being  charged 
at  each.  There  were  no  eating  clubs  and  none  of  the 
students  lived  in  the  village,  unless  his  home  was 
there.  Young  men  who  could  go  to  college  in  those 
days  considered  themselves  fortunate  and  few  wasted 
their  time." 

The  idea  of  young  Hepburn's  parents  in  sending 
him  to  college  was,  almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  to 
fit  their  son  to  be  a  Presbyterian  minister,  as  their 
other  son,  Slaytor,  became.  We  shall  see  what  be- 
came of  this  plan.  Let  the  Doctor  now  tell  of  his 
experiences  while  in  Princeton  College,  of  which  in 
later  Hfe  he  was  for  many  years  "the  oldest  living 
graduate." 

fl3] 


II 

LIFE  AT    PRINCETON  COLLEGE 

YOUNG  HEPBURN  entered  when  the  junior 
class  was  half  advanced,  "was  without 
much  ambition  and  was  overshadowed  by- 
much  older  and  maturer  men."  The  last  term  of  the 
senior  year  was  lost  by  the  breaking  out  of  Asiatic 
cholera  in  New  York  and  at  Princeton,  causing  a 
suspension  of  studies  and  the  closing  of  the  college. 

"Yet  this  short  period  of  college  life,"  said  Dr. 
Hepburn,  "was  useful  in  many  other  ways,  especially 
in  bringing  me  into  contact  with  young  men  of  various 
types  and  degrees  of  culture  from  all  parts  of  our 
country,  with  some  of  whom  I  contracted  warm  and 
lifelong  friendships.  I  was  under  the  direct  personal 
influence  of  such  men  as  Professor  Albert  B.  Dod 
and  J.  Addison  Alexander."  All  his  life,  he  kept  up 
his  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Latin  and  added  to  this 
a  knowledge  of  Hebrew  sufficient  to  help  him  in  his 
work  of  translating  the  Old  Testament. 

His  experiences  at  Princeton  marked  one  of  the 
most  eventful  periods  of  his  life,  for  in  the  spring  of 
1832,  as  he  said,  "I  awoke  to  a  new  life  and  was  born 
again  of  the  Spirit."     Here,  also,  through  acquaint- 

[14] 


LIFE  AT  PRINCETON  COLLEGE 

ance  with  Messrs.  Hope  and  Laird,  his  mind  was 
turned  to  the  foreign  missionary  field. 

In  another  interview  the  nonagenarian  said: 

"There  was  no  hazing  of  under-dassmen,  though 
some  of  the  secret  societies  may  have  followed  the 
custom  to  a  limited  degree.  One  of  the  most 
exciting  pranks  of  the  time  was  when  a  student 
dropped  a  torpedo  in  a  stove,  in  the  recitation  room 
of  the  junior  class.  The  stove  was  blown  to  pieces, 
all  the  windows  were  smashed,  and  some  of  the 
benches  damaged,  but  the  students  were  not  seriously 
hurt.  The  faculty  were  unable  to  discover  the 
culprit;  but  many  years  afterwards,  when  Princeton 
alumni  met  in  New  York  City,  I  heard  one  member 
of  the  class  —  who  was  at  one  time  a  judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  New  Jersey  —  admit  that  he  had 
done  it,  expecting  to  hear  only  a  loud  report,  and 
not  to  wreck  the  room." 

During  the  interview  the  Doctor  referred  to  the 
trouble  of  1874  between  the  students  of  Rutgers 
College  and  those  of  Princeton,  when  the  Rutgers 
graduates  marched  from  New  Brunswick  to  Prince- 
ton, and  captured  the  cannon  and  carried  it  away. 
Something  like  this  had  occurred  also  during  the 
Doctor's  college  days. 

"Most  of  the  students'  exercise  was  taken  in  walk- 
ing," the  Doctor  continued.  ''  Baseball  as  played 
to-day  was  then  unknown,  but  cricket  was  very 
common.  There  were  no  intercollegiate  sports.  We 
got  plenty  of  exercise  by  walking.     A  favorite  walk, 

[15] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

with  many  of  the  students,  was  to  a  female  seminary, 
about  half  a  mile  from  the  college.  If  we  were  for- 
tunate, we  got  a  chance  to  look  at  the  girls,  but 
seldom  had  an  opportunity  to  talk  to  them,  as  a 
much  stricter  watch  was  kept  over  young  women  at 
that  time,  especially  at  boarding  schools." 

The  student's  fondness  for  walking  continued 
throughout  his  life.  At  ninety-three  years  of  age 
the  Doctor,  after  a  mile  walk,  showed  little  indication 
of  fatigue.  He  stated  his  belief  that  students  of  the 
present  day  sacrifice  study  for  athletics.  Possibly 
his  word  may  help  to  a  saner  and  healthier  life  some 
of  those  who  labor  under  delusion  as  to  the  value  of 
violent  exercise.  Long  observation  had  shown  the 
physician  that  the  surest  way  to  shorten  life  is  to 
take  a  course  of  overtraining  in  college  athletics,  and 
then  stop,  when  in  active  business  life;  while  light 
exercise,  kept  up  as  a  daily  habit,  tends  to  longevity. 

"Dr.  Ashbel  Green  had  just  succeeded  President 
Stanhope  Smith,  who  had  done  great  things  for  the 
college  in  the  way  of  broadening  its  curriculum  — • 
among  other  things,  making  provision  for  regular 
instruction  in  chemistry,  the  first  action  of  the  kind 
ever  taken  by  an  American  college.  From  the 
first,  I  was  deeply  interested  in  this  new  and  com- 
paratively unknown  study,  and  I  went  into  it  with 
all  the  enthusiasm  of  a  youngster  of  fourteen. 

"In  those  days,  there  was  in  the  college  require- 
ments a  pretty  stiff  proportion  of  the  classics.  I 
made  up  my  mind  that  it  would  be  more  agreeable 

[16] 


LIFE  AT  PRINCETON  COLLEGE 

to  devote  some  of  the  time  spent  on  Latin  and  Greek 
to  chemical  experimentation.  I  agitated  the  matter 
a  good  deal  publicly  and  gained  quite  a  reputation 
as  a  kicker.  For  aught  I  know,  I  may  have  been  the 
original  advocate  of  the  elective  system. 

"In  the  course  of  time  my  critical  attitude  was 
brought  to  the  attention  of  President  Green,  and  he 
invited  me  to  visit  him  in  his  study.  'I  hear  you 
have  a  poor  opinion  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  authors,' 
he  said,  with  a  humorous  gleam  in  his  eyes.  'What 
have  you  discovered  that  is  so  out  of  the  way  with 
them?' 

"I  replied  that  the  only  quarrel  I  had  with  them 
was  the  amount  of  time  they  demanded.  'It  seems 
to  me  that  you  have  an  abundance  of  time,'  he  replied 
with  a  smile.  'You  are  not  yet  fifteen,  and  you  have 
plenty  of  time  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  these 
interesting  gentlemen.'  I  replied  promptly  that  I 
preferred  to  cultivate  the  society  of  the  natural 
scientists. 

"Then  it  was  that  the  president  floored  me  by  an 
argument  which  convinced  me  that  I  had  something 
still  to  learn.  '  How  are  you  going  to  get  to  the  very 
bottom  of  any  study,  without  a  knowledge  of  the 
classics?'  he  asked.  'Don't  you  know  that  the  en- 
tire nomenclature  of  chemistry  and  much  of  the 
literature  of  the  subject  are  in  Latin?  How  are  you 
going  to  become  eminent  in  any  direction,  without  a 
good  working  knowledge  of  the  classics? ' 

"President  Green's  kindness  and  logic  were  too 
[17] 


X 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

strong  a  combination  to  resist,  and  I  went  back  to 
my  Homer  and  Livy,  determined  to  give  them  a 
chance  to  do  everything  they  could  for  me.  As  it 
has  turned  out,  I  have  never  made  a  stir  in  the  world 
of  pure  science,  but  I  have  found  time  to  produce  a 
Japanese  dictionary,  which  is,  I  believe,  still  to  be 
regarded  as  a  standard.  I  have  never  regretted 
that  I  took  President  Green's  advice." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  see  how  the  great  lexicog- 
rapher's Japanese-English  dictionary,  on  which  all 
others  are  based,  could  have  been  made  so  excellent 
without  thorough  previous  linguistic  exercise.  Hep- 
bum  after  eight  years'  labor  produced  the  "golden 
key  between  the  East  and  the  West."  How  could  he 
ever  have  forged,  wrought  and  finished  so  noble  an 
instrument,  at  once  massive  and  delicate,  without 
this  drill  in  the  classics  at  Princeton?  Great  as  was 
Dr.  Hepburn's  work  in  the  dispensary  and  at  his 
clinics,  and  mighty  as  were  the  streams  of  healing 
which  flowed  from  his  hands,  his  success  as  Bible 
translator  and  dictionary-maker  was  even  more 
signal.  As  an  oculist,  he  unsealed  many  blind  eyes, 
and  the  lancet  in  his  skillful  fingers  was  mighty  in 
opening  the  hearts  of  a  once  suspicious  and  inhos- 
pitable people.  Yet  the  "Open  Sesame,"  which,  in 
1867,  he  spoke,  as  he  alone  was  able  to  utter  the  magic 
formula,  before  the  hidden  cave  of  the  language, 
opened  as  nothing  else  could,  or  did,  the  jewel  cham- 
ber. Over  those  treasures,  the  world  now  rejoices. 
At  his  word,  the  two-leaved  gates  of  the  Japanese 

[181 


LIFE  AT  PRINCETON  COLLEGE 

language  and  literature  swung  apart,  to  the  delight 
of  mankind. 

Like  Gamewell,  the  missionary  and  master-engineer 
in  the  Peking  inclosure,  during  the  Boxer  riots  of 
1900,  whose  fortifications  were  the  means  of  pre- 
serving the  lives  of  the  besieged,  Hepburn  had  at 
first  thought  his  time  wasted  on  a  study  in  college  of 
what  he  hardly  expected  to  use.  Divine  Providence 
used  both  the  Princeton  alumnus  and  the  Cornell 
graduate  to  do  the  work  to  which  unexpected  oppor- 
tunity had  in  each  case  given  a  strenuous  call.  "For 
my  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your 
ways  my  ways,"  saith  Jehovah,  and  very  often 
thought  his  servant,  Dr.  Hepburn. 

In  later  life  James  Curtis  Hepburn  won  as  titles 
the  degrees  of  A.M.,  from  Princeton  College,  in  1835; 
M.D.,  from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1836; 
LL.D.,  from  Lafayette  College,  in  1872;  and  LL.D,, 
from  his  Alma  Mater,  in  1904,  when  over  ninety 
years  old.  He  was  also  chosen  to  honorary  member- 
ship in  many  learned  societies,  and  was  given  the 
decoration  of  the  Order  of  the  Rising  Sun,  Third 
Class,  from  the  Mikado  of  Japan,  Mitsuhito  the 
Great. 


[19] 


Ill 

THE  GREAT  DECISION 

HOW  the  boy,  —  whom  his  parents  had  wished 
to  be  a  minister,  —  was  disposed  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  be  a  physician  and  a  mis- 
sionary, and  how  he  came  to  "throw  his  life  away" 
—  as  some  said  in  1840  —  only  to  find  it  in  richness 
a  hundredfold,  was  narrated  by  the  one  chiefly 
concerned. 

"My  first  serious  impressions  about  personal 
religion  were  in  the  winter  of  1831-32  while  at 
Princeton  College.  There  was  a  revival  in  the  col- 
lege, and  I  then  began  first  to  think  seriously  of  my 
relations  to  God.  However,  I  did  not  obey  the  call 
of  the  Spirit  and  give  myself  to  Christ  until  in  the 
winter  of  1834,  while  attending  medical  lectures  in 
Philadelphia.  I  joined  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
Milton,  Pennsylvania,  that  same  year."  / 

The  father  of  Curtis  would  gladly  have  had  his  son 
a  lawyer,  if  the  ministry  was  out  of  the  question-, 
but  the  young  student  thought  the  pleading  at  the 
bar  would  require  some  oratorical  ability;  and  this  he 
never  possessed.  By  taste  and  natural  fitness,  he 
thought  he  was  marked  for  the  profession  of  medicine. 

[201 


THE    GREAT    DECISION 

Among  his  fellow  students  in  Princeton  was 
Richard  Armstrong  (the  father  of  General  Sam 
Armstrong,  long  the  president  of  the  Hampton 
Institute),  an  early  missionary  to  Hawaii.  Another 
was  Matthew  Laird,  who  went  out  to  Africa.  Both 
at  college  and  at  the  medical  school  a  companion 
who  influenced  him  was  Matthew  B.  Hope,  who 
afterwards  went  to  Singapore  as  a  missionary.  "AH 
these  influences  and  associations  gave  my  mind  a 
bias  to  the  foreign  missionary  work,"  Dr.  Hep- 
burn said,  many  years  later. 

In  his  native  town  of  Milton,  he  began  the 
study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Samuel  Pollock  and  also 
attended  three  courses  of  medical  lectures  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  at  Philadelphia.  He 
received  his  diploma  and  the  degree  of  M.D.  in  the 
V  spring  of  1836. 

/  Of  all  the  professions,  it  is  probable  that  the  min- 
istry is,  on  the  whole,  one  of  the  easiest  to  enter  and 
one  of  the  hardest  in  which  to  keep  up.  In  the 
medical  profession,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  difficult  at 
first  to  obtain  recognition  and  standing,  it  is  com- 
paratively easy  to  maintain  oneself  in  practice  and 
reputation  in  later  life;  or,  at  least  it  was  so,  in  the 
days  before  medical  science  was  revolutionized  by 
the  discovery  of  bacteria  and  the  germ  theory  of 
disease. 

The  young  doctor,  armed  with  a  sheepskin,  was, 
during  most  of  four  years  very  much  like  Noah's 
dove  —  he  was  ever  seeking  a  rest  for  the  sole  of  his 

[211 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

foot.  Not  till  his  second  flight  away  from  home, 
did  he  pluck  the  olive  leaf  that  gave  joy  to  others 
and  fixed  his  own  life  destiny.  He  spent  one  year, 
1837,  in  West  Philadelphia,  then  a  thinly  settled 
suburb  of  the  great  city  between  the  Delaware  and 
the  Schuylkill  rivers,  but  now  a  part  of  the  city  which 
contains  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people.  Here 
Dr.  Hepburn  undertook  the  duties  of  a  medical 
friend  who  was  absent. 

In  the  autumn  of  1838,  he  opened  an  office  in  Norris- 
town,  Pennsylvania.  It  was  here  that  two  of  the 
greatest  decisions  of  his  life  were  made:  he  deter- 
mined to  be  a  missionary  to  heal  and  help  the  people 
of  Asia,  and  he  formed  a  partnership  for  life  with  Miss 
Clarissa  Leete,  whom  the  Doctor  called  Clara. 

Of  this  woman,  who  was  almost  as  wonderful  in 
her  personality  as  the  Doctor  himself,  only  pleasant 
memories  are  treasured  by  scores  of  Japanese  wives 
and  mothers,  who  enjoyed  her  teaching  as  the  pioneer 
educator  of  women  in  Japan,  as  well  as  by  hundreds 
of  United  States  naval  officers  who  found  hospitable 
cheer  in  the  home  of  the  Hepburns,  to  say  nothing  of 
those  to  whom,  as  strangers  in  a  strange  land,  she  was 
guide,  philosopher  and  friend.  Her  ancestor.  Gov- 
ernor Leete,  was  one  of  the  heroic  men  in  Connecti- 
cut. He  had  given  refuge  and  succor  to  certain  of 
the  men  who,  after  condemning  that  royal  anarchist, 
Charles  Stuart,  to  lose  his  head,  had  fled  to  America. 
His  descendant,  the  father  of  Miss  Clara,  had  emi- 
grated southward  with  his  daughter  to  Fayetteville, 

[22] 


THE    GREAT    DECISION 

North  Carolina.  Dr.  Hepburn  met  her  when  she 
was  assisting  her  cousin  —  the  principal  of  the 
Norristown  Academy  —  as  a  teacher  in  the  school. 
Soon  after  the  young  people  were  engaged,  the  Doctor 
made  his  life  decision  as  laborer  abroad  in  Christ's 
name.  His  betrothed  proved  to  be  a  true  helpmeet 
for  him,  for  she  was  ready  and  willing  to  go  with 
him. 

Back  of  all  other  influences  leading  him  to  make 
this  decision  was  the  influence  of  his  mother.  At 
the  head  of  a  band  of  women  who  prayed  for  the 
coming  of  the  kingdom,  she  did  not  fail  to  let  her  son 
know  her  own  heart's  desire  concerning  him.  Never- 
theless, when  the  time  came  for  him  to  choose,  she 
could  hardly  bear  to  have  him  decide  to  go  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth. 

Since  1834  he  had  been  considering  the  choice. 
''I  did  not  at  first  entertain  it  with  pleasure,  but 
more  as  a  stern  duty,"  he  said  in  later  life.  "My 
family,  especially  my  father,  strongly  opposed  the 
idea,  and  made  every  effort  to  turn  my  mind  away 
from  it.  I  myself  tried  to  cast  it  oft',  but  I  found  no 
rest  until  I  had  decided  to  go.  Everything  seemed 
to  favor ,my  going  —  especially  finding  a  wife  who  was 
of  the  same  mind  and  ready  to  go  with  me.  Although 
in  my  first  engagement  in  the  foreign  missionary 
work,  I  had  many  strong  cords  to  sever  which  made 
it  exceedingly  trying,  I  found  the  work  itself  exceed- 
ingly pleasant  and  congenial." 

The  decision  as  to  his  life  work,  which  was  made 
[23] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

despite  all  protests,  was  the  one  which  gave  to  Hep- 
burn the  man,  a  constant  and  unfailing  source  of  joy 
during  his  whole  career.  I  never  knew  a  man  who 
more  signally  illustrated  the  dictum  of  Carlyle: 
"Blessed  is  the  man  that  hath  found  his  work.  Let 
him  ask  no  other  blessedness."  During  all  his 
unwearied  and  ceaseless  labors,  Dr.  Hepburn  was 
sustained  by  the  conviction  that  he  had  obeyed  the 
will  of  God.  No  matter  which  way  his  tastes  might 
run,  his  sympathies  were  always  in  the  line  of  his 
duty;  and  because  work  was  his  greatest  pleasure, 
he  seemed  to  dignify  that  work. 

One  who  knew  him  well  wrote  to  me  in  19 13:  "His 
one  object  in  life  was  religion  —  the  Christian  religion, 
and  everything  he  did  tended  to  that  sole  end.  He 
was  of  a  very  retiring  disposition,  did  not  care  for 
social  life,  and  —  as  far  as  I  can  judge  —  he  cared 
for  nothing  but  study  and  religious  subjects." 

It  was  because  of  this  unintermittent,  unfailing 
devotion  to  duty  that  some  thought  him  cold-blooded, 
and  certainly  he  did  keep  himself  unremittingly  and 
systematically  at  consecrated  toil.  Yet,  probably, 
those  who  imagined  that  this  steadiness  of  habit 
sprang  from  merely  subjective  and  temperamental 
reasons,  instead  of  passionate  loyalty  to  his  divine 
Master,  were  vastly  mistaken.  Those  who  judged 
him  most  lightly  were  they  whom  the  world  could 
most  easily  spare.  It  is  as  certain  as  mathematics, 
that  Japan  became  gradually  better  because,  daily 
^    from   five   a.m.    to    ten    p.m.,    through    the    thirty- 

[241 


THE    GREAT    DECISION 

three  years  spent  within  her  gates,  Dr.  Hepburn 
kept  to  his  tasks  with  the  tenacity  of  an  ivy  vine 
to  a  wall. 

There  are  those  who,  in  view  of  so  strenuous  and 
fruitful  a  life  as  that  of  Dr.  Hepburn,  might  pos- 
sibly excuse  their  own  failures  or  shortcomings,  or 
at  least  seek  to  account  for  such  a  career  by  saying, 
*'It  was  natural  to  him,"  or,  "It  was  his  tempera- 
ment to  be  so."  Nevertheless,  it  is  certain  that  the 
life  story  of  James  Curtis  Hepburn  is  best  explained 
by  deep  con\dction  and  overmastering  faith.  His 
own  confessions  show  this.  "It  is  no  longer  I  that 
live,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me,"  was  the  declaration 
of  his  mind  and  heart.  "I  can  do  all  things  in 
him  that  strengtheneth  me,"  was  the  assured 
belief  of  this  constitutionally  timid  man.  Tempera- 
ment had  little  to  do  with  it.  The  Spirit  of  God  and 
the  loyalty  of  James  Hepburn  were  the  efficient 
factors  in  the  noble  life  of  an  American  whom  the 
Japanese  call  "Kun-shi,"  "a  superior  man." 

After  making  a  journey  to  Fayetteville,  North 
Carolina,  the  lovers  were  married,  on  October  27, 
1840.  The  bride  and  groom  expected  to  sail  away 
at  once,  making  their  bridal  trip  on  the  sea,  hoping 
to  begin  soon  their  work  in  response  to  the  call  of  the 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  with  which  the 
Presbyterian  churches  then  cooperated.  This  call 
was  for  a  medical  missionary  to  go  out  to  Siam  with 
the  purpose  of  working  among  the  Chinese,  who 
were  living  in  numbers  in  that  country,  then  newly 

[25] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

opened  to  American  enterprise  by  treaty;  China,  a 
hermit  empire,  was  still  closed. 

They  planned  to  embark  on  the  ship  United  States, 
and  made  hurried  preparations  to  reach  Boston  in 
time  for  her  sailing.  But  these  were  the  days  of  slow 
coaches,  not  of  telegraphs  or  swift  trains.  When 
they  reached  Boston,  the  vessel  had  sailed.  How- 
ever, the  optimistic  doctor  saw  in  this  a  blessing,  for 
he  had  seen  New  England.  A  few  months  later,  as 
we  shall  see,  he  had  further  occasion  for  rejoicing. 

The  missionaries  did  not  get  away  until  the  follow- 
ing March.  Then  they  sailed  in  an  old  whaling  ship, 
the  Potomac. 


26 


^ 


IV 

EASTWARD  —  A  VOYAGE  OF  THE  SOUL 

THE  long  journey  over  oceans  from  Boston  to 
Singapore  was  for  the  young  missionary  less 
one  of  the  body  than  of  the  spirit.  He  was 
making  a  great  venture  of  faith.  He  had  time  for 
reflection,  for  the  searching  of  the  spirit,  and  for  the 
strengthening  of  his  determination.  His  inner  re- 
ligious experience  was  deepened.  The  records  in  the 
journal  of  this  voyage  explain  the  whole  of  his  later 
career,  for  they  reveal  the  secret  springs  of  his  life, 
more  than  any  other  writing  of  his.  Understanding 
him  when  on  board  the  ship  Potomac,  we  know  the 
man  for  life. 

On  the  day  before  his  embarkation  he  wrote  in 
his  autograph  "Record  of  a  Voyage  from  Boston  to 
Batavia!"  1?*^'  S 

"Boston,  March  14,  Jd^.  Sabbath.  —  Yesterday 
was  the  anniversary  of  my  birth.  :  I  am  now  twenty- 
six  years  old.  The  days  of  the  years  of  my  life  are 
9491.  It  is  now  about  six  years  since  I  made  a  pro- 
fession of  religion.  If  God  will  reckon  with  me  for 
every  moment  of  my  time  —  and  every  moment  I 
am  required  perfectly  to  obey  his  holy  law  —  what 

[27] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

must  my  account  be!  Twenty  years  I  lived  wholly 
regardless  of  my  obligation  to  God  drinking  in  in- 
iquity like  water,  practicing  sin  and  going  according 
to  my  own  lusts,  and  during  the  six  years,  in  which  I 
have  professed  to  be  a  disciple  of  the  Lord,  how  much 
of  my  time  has  been  misspent!  Abstracting  all  that 
has  been  ineffective  through  unbelief,  through  the 
force  of  corruption,  through  the  temptations  of  the 
world,  that  I  have  trifled  away  in  vain  conversation, 
foolish  and  wicked  thoughts  and  indolence,  how 
much  would  there  be  left!  The  law  of  God  does 
not  allow  a  single  rebellious  or  unbeUeving  thought. 
It  requires  us  to  act  always  from  motives  of  love  to 
him.  It  requires  truth  in  the  inward  parts,  purity 
and  holiness.  One  sin  brought  death  upon  the  whole 
human  family,  death  spiritual  and  temporal,  it 
brought  darkness  over  our  souls  and  shut  out  the 
light  of  life,  it  brought  discord,  and  corruption 
amongst  our  affections." 
^  This  passage  shows  that  the  young  physician  was 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  distinctive  doctrines  of 
Calvinism  and  was  strictly  orthodox  in  his  belief, 
as  held  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Early  instructed 
in  the  symbols  of  the  faith,  the  Westminster  Larger 
and  Shorter  Catechisms,  he  held  all  his  life  to  these 
bedrocks  of  faith  and  order,  and,  out  of  them,  by  the 
wand  of  a  consecrated  will,  he  brought  forth  oil  for 
light,  wine  for  exhilaration  and  water  for  his  soul's 
refreshment.  It  was  impossible  for  troubles  to  beat 
down  or  drive  back  such  a  man  with  such  a  vision. 

[28] 


A    VOYAGE    OF    THE    SOUL 

His  clear  seeing  ever  enabled  him  to  discern  the 
superiority  of  the  forces  in  his  favor,  so  long  as  he 
strove  to  do  the  will  of  God,  as  illustrated  in  the  life 
of  Jesus.  Hepburn  "seized  the  triumph  from  afar," 
by  faith  he  "brought  it  nigh," 

The  passage  quoted  stands  in  the  light  of  Hep- 
bum's  later  life  as  a  true  reflector  of  his  innermost 
spirit.  Musing  upon  his  past  career,  every  uncon- 
secrated  day  of  which  seemed  to  him  to  have  been 
wasted,  he  made  a  confession  of  sin  that  is  not  to  be 
taken  too  literally,  except  by  those  whose  eyes  are 
open  both  to  the  awful  nature  of  sin  and  to  the  holi- 
ness of  God.  In  this  confession,  we  can  see  one 
reason  for  Hepburn's  indomitable  industry,  of  which 
there  was  hardly  a  cessation  during  fifty  years. 
Many  in  Japan  who  knew  of  the  great  lexicographer's 
habits  of  study  and  of  his  drudgery  in  the  dispensary 
and  hospital,  realized  that  he  had  an  iron  system, 
by  which  every  minute  was  appraised  at  an  eternal 
value;  but  not  all  penetrated  the  secret  of  his  fruitful 
and  happy  life.  I  have  heard  some  persons  speak  of 
him  as  "a  cold-blooded  missionary,  without  senti- 
ment." 

Yet  even  in  doing  this,  they  unconsciously  paid 
him  their  tribute  of  praise;  for,  in  contrast  with 
others,  whose  energies  were  apt  to  pass  too  often  into 
the  vapor  of  emotion  and  sentimentalism,  Hepburn 
was  superbly  cool.  He  was  inhospitable  to  "in- 
effectual emotions."  His  was  not  the  fear  that 
means  cowardice,  nor  yet  the  refrigerated  caution 

[291 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

that  savors  of  the  merely  mathematical  doctrine  of 
averages,  and  is  thus  wary  in  risks;  rather  was  it 
the  fear  of  God  that  maketh  clean  —  the  purifying 
fear  lest  he  might  flinch  from  duty. 

There  were  others,  who,  sharing  the  intimacy  of 
the  untiring  student  and  gentle  physician,  knew  the 
perfect  proportion  and  the  exquisite  spiritual  beauty 
of  that  serene  life,  "without  haste  and  without  rest." 
Such  appraisers  of  Hepburn's  daily  round  were  more 
accustomed  to  compare  it  and  the  man  to  a  finely 
tempered  blade,  that  might  bend  but  not  break,  and 
whose  edge  was  invincible,  when  wielded  by  a  ruler 
of  his  own  spirit.  The  culture  that  might  seem  to 
the  world  narrow  was  in  reality  profoundly  deep  and 
superbly  high.  In  fact,  to  pursue  the  metaphor 
further,  Hepburn  was  a  true  samurai  of  Jesus,  whose 
sword  was  of  the  Spirit,  even  the  Word  of  God.  As 
in  the  ideal  of  Japanese  swordsmanship,  the  mind 
and  the  weapon,  the  soul  and  the  steel  become  one 
in  mastery  and  effect.  Possessed  of  the  indwelling 
power  of  "the  Great  Guardian  Spirit,"  the  soul  of 
this  quiet,  forceful  man  seemed  one  with  his  word. 
The  two,  lips  and  life,  fitted  each  other  as  hand  and 

hilt.  y^y; 

It  was  on  Monday,  March  15,  -sS^,  that  the  stanch 
^^  ship  Potomac  was  all  ready  to  begin  her  voyage  to 
Java.  Besides  Captain  Carter,  who  showed  himself 
throughout  the  whole  voyage  nobly  human  in  his 
kindness,  sympathy  and  consideration,  there  were  the 
first  mate  Hoyt,  the  second  mate  Riddle,  and  the 

[30] 


A    VOYAGE    OF    THE    SOUL 

supercargo  Davis,  besides  a  steward,  a  cook  and 
eleven  sailors.  Mrs.  Hepburn's  father,  Mr.  Lowrie 
and  others,  eleven  in  all,  were  present  to  see  the  mis- 
sionaries off.     Anchor  was  hoisted  at  ten  o'clock. 

Then  began  what  was  to  the  young  and  delicate 
wife  four  months  of  hardship.  The  apartment 
allotted  to  the  travelers  was  a  little  cabin,  far  from 
being  a  "state"  room.  The  two  bunks  were  each 
six  by  two  feet.  The  endless  monotony  of  food  and 
motion  and  the  unchanging  scenes  of  sea  and  sky 
were  at  times  depressing.  The  creaking  of  the 
masts,  the  dashing  of  the  water  against  the  ship's 
sides,  and,  in  a  gale,  the  whistling  of  the  wind  through 
the  rigging  made  variety,  at  least  to  the  ears.  Yet 
the  sounds  were  neither  soothing  nor  alluring. 

The  bill  of  fare  one  day  for  breakfast  was:  boiled 
rice,  butter,  corn  bread,  molasses,  soused  pig's  feet, 
hash  and  coffee;  for  dinner,  chicken  pie,  tongue, 
boiled  rice,  pickles,  turnips,  bread  pudding  and 
"dip";  for  supper,  molasses,  cold  chicken  pie,  cold 
ham  and  hot  cakes.  A  pig  was  killed  every  Saturday 
afternoon.  On  another  day,  there  was  for  breakfast 
soused  tripe,  rice,  etc.;  for  dinner,  roast  chicken,  salt 
meat,  macaroni,  potatoes,  turnips,  pickles,  etc.;  for 
supper,  cold  chicken,  cold  meat,  toast  and  ginger- 
bread. There  was  very  little  variety  in  this  menu 
during  four  months  at  sea. 

From  the  first,  the  medical  passenger  showed  him- 
self the  friend  of  all.  He  was  not  content  with 
distributing  Bibles  and   tracts  to   the  sailors,   who 

[311 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

seemed  to  be  grateful  for  the  gifts,  for  only  two  out  of 
the  eleven  possessed  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures.  Be- 
sides talking  with  them,  as  he  had  opportunity,  he 
ministered  to  their  physical  needs,  not  only  in  dispens- 
ing medicine,  binding  up  wounds,  or  poulticing  finger 
felons,  but,  when  necessary,  he  relieved  an  aching 
tooth,  or  ended  its  career  by  extraction.  At  once  he 
began  the  study  of  Malay,  for  on  board  was  a  young 
man  named  Eaton,  who,  though  he  had  forgotten 
much  of  his  native  tongue,  was  of  assistance  in  pro- 
nunciation. Besides  sermons  and  solid  works  on 
theology,  the  Doctor  read  Milner's  Church  History, 
in  which  he  was  profoundly  interested. 

Having  only  headwork  to  do  while  on  the  ship, 
the  world  of  living  creatures  offered  him  much  diver- 
sion. He  foimd  pleasure  in  studying  the  flying  fish, 
the  porpoises  playing  at  the  bow,  the  great  variety  of 
birds,  changing  with  the  latitude,  an  occasional  dol- 
phin and  the  sea  gulls  that  suggested  land.  Watch- 
ing the  motions  of  the  clouds  as  they  moved  along 
the  horizon,  the  passengers  "felt  as  if  there  was  some- 
thing besides  themselves  in  the  world." 

The  contemplation  of  the  ocean  gave  them  "some 
faint  idea  of  the  eternity,  power,  wisdom  and  goodness 
of  God.  We  behold,"  wrote  the  Doctor,  "evidences 
of  them  here  as  well  as  in  all  his  other  works."  Byron 
has  expressed  the  same  thoughts  in  his  immortal 
verse,  in  his  Childe  Harold's  Pilgrimage: 

Thou  glorious  mirror,  where  the  Ahnighty's  form 
Glasses  itself  in  tempests :  in  all  time 
[321 


A    VOYAGE    OF    THE    SOUL 

Calm  or  convulsed  —  in  breeze,  or  gale,  or  storm. 
Icing  the  pole,  or  in  the  torrid  clime 
Dark-heaving;  boundless,  endless  and  sublime; 
The  image  of  eternity,  the  throne 
Of  the  invisible. 

On  April  lo,  they  passed  a  Dutch  frigate.  Its 
red,  white  and  blue  flag  could  be  discerned  with  the 
eye.  With  the  glass,  many  heads  were  noticed  look- 
ing over  the  bulwarks  at  the  American  ship. 

The  Bible  and  their  hymn  book  were  the  chief 
sources  of  mutual  enjoyment.  "Our  little  cabin 
becomes  our  Bethel,"  is  the  word  picture  of  the  joy 
of  the  young  people. 

There  was  little  of  comfort  or  luxury  on  board. 
After  a  while,  the  drinking  water  became  so  bad 
that,  as  the  Doctor  wrote:  "I  have  to  drink  it  down 
like  a  dose  of  salts,  without  tasting  it,  or  cover  its 
taste  by  mixing  molasses  with  it.  How  good  would 
a  glass  of  cold  water  from  that  dear  old  pump  at 
home  taste  now."  Yet  all  these  daily  discomforts, 
borne  by  homesick  knights-errant  for  God,  made  them 
think  less  of  bodily  gratifications  and  look  more  to 
spiritual  joys  as  the  springs  of  happiness.  This 
sea  experience,  based  on  grim  reality,  furnished  the 
principle  of  life.  Ever  afterwards,  they  enjoyed 
home  comforts  all  the  more. 

By  April  14  the  sun  was  vertical  and  woolen  clothes 
were  changed  for  linen.  On  April  20,  the  captain 
called  attention  to  the  yellow  color  of  the  main  top- 
sail, which  he  said  was  owing  to  a  deposit  of  sand 
brought  over  from  the  coast  of  Africa^  about  five 

[33J 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

hundred  miles  distant,  by  the  northeast  trade  wind. 
The  captain  declared  that  on  the  homeward  passage 
he  had  seen  the  sail  likewise  colored  yellow,  when 
twelve  hundred  or  more  miles  away  from  land. 

A  shark  was  caught  that  had  "eyes  like  a  cat" 
and  plenty  of  recurved  teeth.  Its  skin  was  saved 
for  the  making  of  shagreen  —  the  granulated  material 
which  the  Japanese  use  for  ornamenting  the  hilts  of 
their  swords. 

They  sailed  through  whole  squadrons  of  the  nau- 
tilus, or  ''Portuguese  man-of-war."  "The  waves 
seemed  to  capsize  the  tiny  sail,  but  it  was  soon  righted 
again  and  went  along,  dancing  over  the  banks  of  the 
mighty  billows.  Another  specimen  and  manifesta- 
tion of  the  works  of  God,  which  are  all  made  in 
wisdom  both  in  their  construction  and  the  end." 

On  April  24,  the  sea-weary  eyes  were  gladdened 
with  the  sight  of  the  snowy  sea  gulls.  Associated  in 
their  minds,  as  these  birds  were,  with  the  idea  of 
land,  they  brought  many  pleasing  thoughts  of  home. 

On  April  30,  they  spoke  the  whaler,  Isabella ,  of 
Fair  Haven,  near  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts,  the 
captains  exchanging  sundry  questions.  This  pleasant 
excitement  of  a  passing  ship  whiled  away  an  hour  or 
two,  but  there  was  no  chance  to  send  a  letter  home. 

These  were  the  days  of  the  famous  "monthly 
concert  of  prayer  for  missions."  It  was  natural  then 
that  on  Sunday,  May  2,  passing  the  island  of  Trini- 
dad, Dr.  Hepburn  should  write: 

"We  thought  of  our  friends  and  the  many  prayers 
[34] 


A    VOYAGE    OF    THE    SOUL 

that  would  be  offered  up  for  us  to-day,  and  endeavored 
as  far  as  our  circumstances  permitted,  to  meet  with 
them  to  remember  the  heathen  world  before  God, 
that  they  might  be  given  to  the  Son  for  an  inheri- 
tance. How  should  it  encourage  us  to  know  that 
once  every  month  God's  people  in  all  parts  of  the 
world  put  up  united  prayer  for  the  condition  of  the 
heathen  and  the  coming  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom. 
How  pleasing  is  it,  upon  the  lonely  ocean,  to  be  able 
to  join  our  prayers  with  them." 

On  May  3  he  wrote:  "The  North  Star  has  sunk 
below  the  horizon.  We  watched  it  as  long  as  we 
could.  We  have  looked  upon  it  at  home.  The 
pointers  of  the  Great  Bear  are  getting  more  and 
more  dim  and  low.  The  Southern  Cross  has  come 
into  view."  The  days  were  shortening  and  the 
nights  lengthening  rapidly  and  woolen  coats  on  the 
body  and  quilts  on  the  bed  were  in  order.  Soon 
the  land  birds,  called  the  "Cape  hens"  were  flying 
round  the  vessel. 

On  May  12,  Dr.  Hepburn  had  to  be  husband, 
physician,  nurse  and  friend,  when  a  little  baby  son 
about  six  months  old  was  born  dead  and  was  com- 
mitted to  the  deep,  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  even- 
ing. In  the  narrow  berth,  six  feet  by  two,  in  a  dark 
room  and  on  a  rolling  ship,  with  no  mother  or  woman 
friend  near,  the  young  wife  had  few  conveniences  of 
any  kind.  The  next  day,  a  terrible  storm  broke. 
The  pitching  and  rolling  of  the  ship,  the  tossing  in 
the  berths  from  side  to  side,  the  water  from  the 

[35] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

billows  breaking  on  deck  and  coming  down  into  the 
cabin,  the  terrible  noises,  the  roaring  of  the  wind 
among  the  spars  and  cordage,  the  dashing  of  the 
waves  and  the  tumbling  about  of  chairs  and  every- 
thing not  lashed  firmly,  the  creaking  of  masts  and 
partitions,  the  cries  and  stamping  of  sailors,  causing 
a  dreadful  jumble  of  noises,  combined  to  make  a 
terrible  night.  Yet  the  record  is,  "We  did  not 
complain,  however,  but  felt  thankful  for  what  mercies 
we  had,  which  were  many." 

Soon  the  barometer  of  optimism  was  rising.  A 
specimen  record  is:  "Mercy  and  kindness  have  at- 
tended us  all  along.  Our  time  is  spent  generally 
very  pleasantly  and  profitably.  It  seems  like  a 
continual  Sabbath  to  us,  and  I  trust  will  be  a  good 
preparation  for  the  duties  upon  which  we  expect  soon 
to  enter.  All  the  future  is  dark  and  unknown  to  us, 
but  we  can  go  on,  committing  our  way  unto  the 
Lord.  Happy  are  we,  if  our  afflictions  drive  us 
nearer  to  God  and  that  they  do  not  harden  our  heart 
and  that  we  can  still  come  to  him."  This  is  the 
spirit  of  Toplady's  hymn,  beginning,  "If,  on  a  quiet 
sea,"  in  which  one  stanza  reproduces  Hepburn's 
thought. 

But  should  the  surges  rise, 

And  rest  delay  to  come, 

Blest  be  the  tempest,  kind  the  storm, 

Which  drives  us  nearer  home. 

Coleridge's  "Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner"  had 
either  not  been  read  by  the  Yankee  sailors,  or  else 

[36] 


A    VOYAGE    OF    THE    SOUL 

had  no  terrors  for  them  —  although  the  weird  poem 
had  been  in  print  for  over  fifty  years  —  for  they  had 
no  compunctions  over  hooking  an  albatross  and 
drawing  it  on  board.  The  Doctor  noticed  that  after 
various  other  birds  had  fought  stoutly  for  a  piece  of 
fat  dropped  in  the  ship's  wake,  making  a  great, 
racket  over  it,  the  attention  of  the  albatross  was 
attracted.  Then  this  majestic  bird  swooped  down 
and  put  an  end  to  all  noise  and  quarreling  by  devour- 
ing the  fat  himself.  If,  however,  there  was  a  hook 
concealed  in  the  bait,  he  got  himself  into  a  difficulty, 
which  might  be  the  prelude  of  his  being  hauled  on 
shipboard.  One  of  the  birds  caught,  measured  eight 
feet  from  tip  to  tip  of  the  outspread  wings.  The 
body  was  larger  than  that  of  a  goose,  the  eye  was 
large  and  black,  and  the  bill  was  about  six  inches 
long. 

Notwithstanding  the  Doctor's  medical  and  hus- 
bandly cares,  his  distressing  anxiety  of  mind,  loss  of 
sleep  and  want  of  exercise,  he  kept  in  excellent  health. 
He  actually  learned  Paul's  secret  and  began  to  re- 
joice in  his  disappointments.  He  wrote:  ''We  find 
prayer  to  be  the  only  means  of  comfort  and  we  never 
enjoyed  it  more.  The  truths  of  the  Bible  are  more 
readily  apprehended  and  felt.  We  have  been  taught 
patience,  dependence  on  God,  and  I  trust  faith,  hope, 
love  and  humility  have  all  been  made  to  flourish 
through  this  affliction.  The  Lord  is  undoubtedly 
answering  many  of  my  prayers  for  holiness  and 
communion  with  him,  hut  in  a  way  I  did  not  expect. 

[371 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

(Italics  in  original.)  But  thanks  be  to  him  for  his 
great  mercies!  O  for  grace  to  improve  it  more, 
and  that  patience  may  have  its  perfect  work!" 

I  have  quoted  thus  fully  from  young  Dr.  Hep- 
burn's journal,  written  over  seventy  years  ago,  since 
it  opens  a  great  window  into  his  soul  life.  In  later 
years,  he  did  not  put  down  so  fully  the  thoughts 
that  revealed  his  personal  religion.  His  character 
was  already  formed  in  these  early  days,  and  he 
remained  much  the  same  man  throughout  his  long 
life.  His  was  a  pilgrimage  of  serene  faith,  with  an 
even  temperament,  so  that  he  never  wasted  time 
in  repining  or  in  sentimentalism,  but  went  straight 
ahead  in  steadfast  work.  As  the  Hebrew  of  the 
moving  pictures  in  Psalm  84  would  phrase  it,  "Pass- 
ing through  the  valley  of  weeping,  they  make  it  a 
place  of  springs." 


38 


V 

IN  THE  ISLAND  WORLD  OF  ASIA 

DURING  the  whole  voyage  the  Doctor's 
anxiety  for  his  wife  was  great.  From  the 
time  her  feet  touched  the  deck,  until  thirteen 
weeks  had  passed,  she  had  not  one  full  day  of  comfort 
or  good  health.  These  were  the  days  of  old-fashioned 
orthodoxy  in  medicine  and  in  ship's  discipline.  The 
Doctor's  medicine  chest  showed  a  goodly  store  and  use 
of  heroic  and  standard  remedies,  and  on  one  day  a 
sailor  was  flogged  for  breaking  into  the  cook's  galley 
and  stealing  some  meat.  Then  followed  another 
terrific  storm,  in  which  the  royal  mainsail  getting 
loose,  the  wind  tore  it  in  shreds,  while  the  waves 
kept  breaking  over  the  deck,  the  cabin  and  com- 
panionway  being  constantly  wet  with  the  salt  water. 
On  the  eighty-fifth  day  out,  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  they 
passed  the  island  of  New  Amsterdam  —  the  crater 
of  an  extinct  volcano,  and  rich  in  hot  springs.  Even 
a  hill  crest  in  the  ocean  was  a  welcome  sight. 

Not  till  the  ninety-first  day  out,  was  the  battered 
lady  able  to  be  out  of  her  bunk,  but  on  Sunday,  June 
13,  we  find  this  entry: 

"Clara  went  on  deck  this  afternoon.  How  thank- 
ful we  should  be  to  a  kind  and  merciful  God,  who  has 

[391 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

raised  her  up  from  her  sickness  and  restored  health 
to  her  feeble  body.  She  also  sat  down  with  them  at 
the  table.     This  is  a  day  of  mercy." 

They  now  began  to  pack  their  trunks  and  to  write 
their  letters  homeward.  One  day  the  ship  sailed 
two  hundred  and  twelve  miles.  Under  date  of  June 
i6,  we  find  in  the  journal  Mrs.  Hepburn's  delicate 
penmanship,  telling  of  letters  already  penned  for 
home,  and  the  addition:  "My  strength  is  daily 
increasing.  How  great  is  the  goodness  of  God  in 
raising  me  once  more  to  health.  O  that  I  may 
serve  him  all  the  days  of  my  Hfe."  Verily  the  prayers 
of  this  pioneer  of  the  Christian  education  of  women 
in  Japan  were  answered.  It  was  for  the  writer  and  his 
wife,  in  1892,  to  exchange  merry  jests  with  her  at  her 
home  in  East  Orange,  as  "Japan's  first  schoolmarm." 

Being  now  within  five  hundred  miles  of  North 
Holland  island,  the  sailors  were  kept  busy  cleaning 
and  scrubbing  the  deck  and  paint,  preparatory  to 
seeing  land;  but  the  trade  winds  were  very  light  and 
variable  for  two  days.  On  the  ninety-ninth  day, 
they  expected  to  pass  the  forest-covered  Christmas 
Island  at  night,  and  to  descry  Java  Head  on  Wednes- 
day. A  contrast,  almost  laughable,  was  presented 
next  day  in  seeing  a  pure-white  tropic  bird,  sailing 
high  in  the  air,  rare  and  radiant,  with  the  common- 
place booby  bird  close  at  hand.  On  Wednesday,  June 
21,  the  one  hundred  and  first  day  out,  they  made  the 
island  of  Java  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening.  They 
waited  until  daylight  to  enter  the  Straits  of  Sunda. 

[401 


THE    ISLAND    WORLD    OF    ASIA 

Then  burst  upon  their  eyes  the  superb  beauty  of 
this  ''Pearly  Island  of  the  Orient,"  with  its  mountains, 
clothed  in  verdure  to  the  water's  edge  and  retiring 
and  rising  one  above  the  other.  With  a  glass  they 
could  see  the  trees  waving  in  the  wind.  A  most 
delicious  odor  was  borne  by  the  land  breeze  to  the 
ship.  It  was  the  perfume  of  blossoms,  rather  than 
the  piquancy  of  spices.  Two  American  ships  lay  at 
anchor  in  the  New  Bay.  At  eight  in  the  morning, 
they  passed  Gasa  Head,  a  bold  bluff,  and  soon  they 
saw  a  Malay  prahu  in  the  distance.  Later  on,  the 
great  Krakatoa  peak,  thirty  miles  distant,  loomed  up. 
As  seen  in  the  morning  light  by  Dr.  Hepburn,  when 
eleven  miles  distant,  this  cloud-capped  peak  was 
robed  entirely  in  greenery. 

This  is  the  famous  volcano,  whose  eruptions  on 
August  25,  27,  1883,  were  the  most  stupendous  on 
record.  They  sent  columns  of  dust  and  ashes  in  the 
air  to  the  height  of  seventeen  miles,  causing  darkness 
in  the  sky  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant;  mak- 
ing detonations  that  were  heard  more  than  two 
thousand  miles  away;  causing  sea  waves  that  were 
propagated  as  far  as  the  Enghsh  Channel;  filling  the 
atmosphere  of  the  old  world  and  even  America  for 
many  months  with  the  dust  that  gave  rise  to  the 
memorable  "red  sunsets"  of  that  year;  and,  through 
tidal  waves,  causing  the  death  of  thirty-six  thousand 
human  beings  on  the  shores  adjacent.  In  1886, 
Verbeck  of  Batavia  wrote  a  book  fully  describing 
this  amazing  phenomenon.     In   1841   and  in   1883, 

[41] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

Dr.  Hepburn  was  equally  interested  in  this  mighty 
landmark. 

Four  vessels  were  in  sight  and  many  Malay  fishing 
boats  were  visible,  when  the  missionaries  sent  their 
letters  on  board  the  bark  Florida,  from  New  York  at 
Canton.  They  learned  that  the  ship  Vespasia, 
which  sailed  from  Boston  an  hour  later  than  the 
Potomac,  had  arrived  the  day  before. 

The  island  of  Java,  as  described  by  Dr.  Hepburn, 
had  then  a  population  of  six  million  souls.  Its  area 
is  fifty  thousand  square  miles,  so  that  it  is  a  little 
larger  than  the  Doctor's  native  state,  or  about  the 
size  of  England.  It  is  interesting  to-day  to  compare 
the  history  and  development  of  the  two  islands  of 
Java  and  Cuba,  so  much  alike  as  to  their  relation  to 
the  continent  nearest  to  them,  of  much  the  same 
size,  and  in  the  same  latitude. 

Under  Spanish  rule  there  were  probably  never  as 
many  as  three  millions  of  people  on  the  "Pearl  of  the 
Antilles,"  whose  story  was  a  monotonous  one  of  misery 
and  wretchedness,  of  oppression  and  misrule,  of  iron- 
handed  cruelty  and  frequent  rebellion,  until  taken 
hold  of  by  the  United  States.  Java,  on  the  con- 
trary, with  a  present  population  of  over  thirty-three 
million  of  contented  and  happy  souls,  with  nearly  six 
milhon  domestic  animals,  and  over  seven  million 
acres  under  cultivation,  has  been  wisely  governed; 
and  its  story,  since  the  days  of  Hepburn,  is  in  the 
main  one  of  peace  and  prosperity. 
•,,  The  ship  kept  beating  about  all  day  June  25,  in 
1421 


"■5^ 


^^S""^^^ 


THE    ISLAND    WORLD    OF    ASIA 

sight  of  Angere,  without  making  much  headway. 
Malay  boats  came  alongside.  On  one  of  these  —  a 
family  affair  —  were  eight  persons,  men,  women  and 
children,  all  of  spare  habit  with  copper-colored  com- 
plexion. The  men  had  on  pantaloons  reaching  down 
to  the  knees,  and  a  jacket;  the  women  wore  only  a 
sarang,  or  tight  petticoat,  and  all  had  handkerchiefs 
tied  over  their  heads,  and  teeth  colored  red  by 
chewing  the  betel  nut.  Their  lips  were  black,  giving 
their  mouths  a  very  disgusting  appearance. 

In  their  cargo  was  a  little  of  everything  —  chickens, 
monkeys,  squirrels,  paroquets,  cocoanuts,  pineapples, 
plantains,  bananas,  oranges,  shells,  yams,  mats,  deer 
horns,  birds  in  cages,  and  eggs.  "However  ignorant 
of  what  we  esteem  knowledge  they  had  all  the  shrewd- 
ness and  ingenuity  of  bargain  makers."  The  Doctor 
wrote:  "God  has  made  them  of  the  same  blood  as 
ourselves.  They  possess  the  same  rational  and  in- 
telligent souls  and  are  capable  of  being  brought  to  a 
saving  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  be  made  heirs 
of  eternal  life.  Their  villages  will  doubtless  one  day 
resound  with  songs  of  praise  and  prayer  to  the  true 
God." 

When  the  Potomac  anchored  off  Angere,  they  spoke 
the  bark  United  States  from  Boston,  on  her  way  back 
to  Batavia,  whence  she  had  sailed  a  few  days  before, 
having  sprung  a  leak.  On  this  ill-fated  vessel  which 
took  out  a  party  of  missionaries,  the  bride  and 
groom  had  expected  to  sail,  but  arrived  in  Boston 
too  late.     Badly  leaking,  this  ship  put  into  a  port 

[431 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

in  South  America,  and  was  detained  there  several 
months. 

At  five  in  the  afternoon  of  June  26,  as  the  ship  cast 
anchor  near  St.  Nicholas'  Point,  they  heard  the  birds 
singing  in  the  trees.  Purchasing  some  cocoanuts, 
they  found  their  first  land  drink  very  delightful. 

These  last  few  days,  while  the  ship  was  beating  her 
way  in,  against  a  head  wind,  though  full  of  excite- 
ment, were  tedious,  because  the  two  passengers  had 
got  out  of  their  routine  and  ship  habits.  Very 
different  from  the  modern  promptness  of  a  steamer, 
was  the  uncertain  movement  of  a  sailer.  Neverthe- 
less this  was  an  era  when  the  American  flag  and  ships 
were  visible  in  almost  every  sea  —  so  different  from 
this  era  of  shrunken  American  commerce,  when  the 
Stars  and  Stripes,  except  on  our  national  vessels, 
are  rarely  mirrored  on  Asiatic  seas. 

The  Doctor's  constitutional  timidity  broke  out 
afresh.  He  wrote:  "I  long  to  be  on  land,  and  yet  I 
tremble  when  I  think  of  what  is  before  me.  The 
Lord  only  knows  whether  I  shall  be  a  blessing  or  a 
curse  to  the  poor  heathen,  whether  I  shall  be  a  faith- 
ful servant  or  a  cumberer  of  the  ground.  There  is 
something  wrong  with  me,  or  I  would  not  feel  as  I 
do.  I  cannot  look  up  with  confidence  to  God.  A 
load  of  sin  presses  on  my  soul.  O  that  the  Saviour 
would  help  cast  my  burdens  on  him  and  return  to 
him  with  true  humiHty  and  repentance." 

The  Dutch  were  the  first  to  show  true  sympathy 
with  aHen  races.     They  founded  the  initial  Asiatic 

[441 


THE    ISLAND    WORLD    OF    ASIA 

Society,  and  began  the  first  systematic  study  of  the 
deepest  thing  in  man  —  religion.  They  were  pioneers 
in  the  great  work  of  the  future,  and  in  the  special 
task  of  the  twentieth  century,  of  bridging  the  gulf 
between  the  Occident  and  the  Orient  and  preparing 
the  way  for  the  subsequent  union  and  reconciliation 
of  the  East  and  the  West. 

Before  landing  Dr.  Hepburn  wrote:  "What  I  wish 
to  know  of  the  Javanese:  Of  what  religion?  What 
their  reUgious  ceremonies?  What  has  been  done 
for  them  by  Christians?  What  is  the  policy  of  the 
government  toward  them  and  the  missionaries? 
How  many  missionaries  reside  in  the  islands,  and  of 
what  society,  etc." 


[45 


VI 

IN  THE   DUTCH   EAST   INDIES 

ON  Monday  afternoon,  June  lo  —  the  one 
hundred  and  seventh  day  out  —  when  in 
the  midst  of  about  twenty  ships,  of  which 
two  were  American,  at  four  miles  from  the  city  of 
Batavia,  the  anchor  was  dropped  and  the  supercargo 
left  in  the  boat  for  land.  The  next  day  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Hepburn  left  the  ship  in  a  boat  pulled  by  four  Malays. 
In  a  little  over  an  hour  they  were  at  the  head  of  the 
canal,  which  reached  into  the  heart  of  the  city.  They 
passed  four  Chinese  junks  and  in  the  narrow  stream 
saw  Chinese  boats,  in  one  of  which  sat  a  woman 
holding  her  god  upon  her  lap. 

Everything  was  new  and  strange,  the  people,  their 
dress,  language,  boats  and  houses.  The  numerous 
Chinese  in  the  city,  —  many  of  them  quite  wealthy, 
having  more  energy,  industry  and  ingenuity  than 
the  Malays  or  Javanese,  —  were  seen  sitting  in  their 
shops  engaged  in  all  kinds  of  employment. 

At  the  office  of  Mr.  Darling  they  met  Mr.  Thomp- 
son, an  American  missionary  who  lived  about  five  miles 
out,  among  the  Malay  dwellings.  He  invited  them 
to  stay  with  him,  and  they  gladly  accepted.     Mr. 

[461 


THE    DUTCH    EAST    INDIES 

Thompson,  with  his  wife,  kept  a  boarding  school  in 
his  house.  The  eleven  pupils,  Malay  and  Chinese,  none 
of  them  over  twelve  years,  were  quick  to  learn  and 
sang  some  of  our  tunes  with  great  spirit  and  accuracy. 

The  natives  were  nearly  all  Mohammedans  and 
very  bigoted,  being  especially  tenacious  of  their 
ceremonies.  The  missionaries  had  no  difficulty  in 
refuting  the  native  arguments,  but  it  was  hard  to 
get  Javanese  to  accept  and  practice  Christianity. 

Although  American  and  Dutch  missionaries  had 
been  laboring  for  many  years,  and  many  children  had 
been  baptized,  the  Doctor  could  not  hear  of  any 
adult  Malay  that  had  sincerely  embraced  Chris- 
tianity. Yet  —  as  throughout  his  life  — •  the  Doctor 
did  not  speak  positively  on  the  subject  of  missionary 
success,  as  his  information  was  very  limited.  He 
always  wanted  facts,  before  making  inductions.  He 
was  not  a  child,  to  plant  seeds  one  day  and  get  up 
early  next  morning  to  see  them  sprout,  nor  did  he 
expect  the  baby  of  a  week's  age  to  talk,  run,  or  read. 
He  felt  the  force  of  the  proverb  concerning  fools  and 
their  snap  judgments  upon  unfinished  work. 

Batavia  was  really  a  double  city,  consisting  of  the 
new  city  and  the  old,  the  latter  being  very  Dutch 
in  appearance  with  two-storied  houses  whose  high 
pointed  roofs  were  covered  with  tiles.  These  were 
usually  inhabited  by  Chinese,  who  were  the  only 
mechanics  in  the  place.  The  Malays  were  generally 
seen  employed  as  servants  in  families,  as  coachmen, 
footmen,  soldiers,  cooHes,  boatmen,  farmers,  etc. 

[471 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

The  Americans  and  Europeans  lived  in  the  new 
city,  which  was  very  handsome  and  dehghtful,  and 
in  houses  set  some  distance  back  from  the  street. 
They  had  beautiful  gardens  planted  with  trees  and 
laid  out  in  walks.  Built  of  brick,  covered  with  white 
stucco,  and  usually  one  story  high  with  large  veran- 
das in  front  and  behind,  these  were  very  tasteful 
and  well  adapted  to  a  hot  climate.  In  the  cool  of 
the  day,  doors  and  windows  were  opened.  The 
foreigners  lived  in  elegant  style. 

The  Doctor  wrote: 

"There  is  indeed  more  luxury  and  elegance  than 
is  to  be  found  in  any  city  of  America.  The  servants 
are  very  numerous.  Every  family  has  its  carriage, 
and  some  keep  as  many  as  eight  horses.  This  may  be 
because  of  their  small  size,  not  more  than  four  feet 
high,  and  their  easily  giving  out  on  account  of  the 
heat,  so  that  the  same  span  of  horses  cannot  be  used 
except  at  intervals  of  two  or  three  days.  Houses 
are  cheap.  They  may  be  had  very  good  for  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  dollars.  Early  in  the  morning,  and 
after  four  o'clock,  is  the  only  time  that  Europeans 
think  it  proper  to  expose  themselves  to  the  sim. 
They  take  a  cup  of  coffee  early,  as  soon  as  they  are 
up;  breakfast  at  eleven;  dine  at  five,  sLx,  or  seven, 
and  take  a  cup  of  tea  at  nine  or  ten  p.m. 

"There  are  many  canals  running  through  the  city. 
Batavia  is  indeed  a  beautiful  place.  It  puts  me  more 
in  mind  of  New  Haven  than  any  place  I  have  seen. 
The  vegetation  is  really  abundant  and  rich.     The 

[48] 


C:! 

^ 

s 

> 

^ 

H 

t> 

< 

a 

H 

■--I 

n 

s 

■.in 

S4, 

C 

THE    DUTCH    EAST    INDIES 

cocoanut,  the  plantain  and  the  orange  trees  and 
mangosteen  are  very  common.  There  are  several 
public  buildings  in  the  city,  some  of  them  handsome, 
and  several  large  plains  or  open  squares  used  for 
military  parade.  The  Malay  soldiers  go  barefoot. 
Their  uniform  is  blue.  The  roads  are  excellent,  very 
level,  and  macadamized." 

On  Wednesday,  July  7,  after  a  week's  stay  on  land, 
the  missionaries  again  boarded  the  ship.  Two  days 
later  they  entered  the  Straits  of  Banca.  Passing 
the  low  and  flat  coasts  of  Sumatra,  they  crossed  the 
equator  on  Sunday,  July  11,  and  passed  the  island 
of  Singin  on  Monday,  anchoring  off  Singapore,  the 
City  of  the  Lion,  that  afternoon. 

Singapore  was  then  new,  having  been  first  settled 
in  1819.  That  year  it  had  but  one  hundred  and  fifty 
inhabitants.  In  1841,  there  was  a  population  of  forty 
thousand,  and  the  city  had  an  ever-increasing  trade. 

There  were  souls  enough  to  save  in  this  cosmo- 
politan city,  containing  sixteen  thousand  Chinese, 
and  ten  thousand  Malays,  as  well  as  BengaUs, 
Hindoos,  Arabs,  Jews,  Portuguese,  Dutch,  English, 
French  and  Americans.  There  were  also  Bugis,  who 
came  from  the  islands  of  Celebes,  and  had  a  language 
of  their  own,  though  they  spoke  Malay. 

After  leaving  the  ship,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hepburn  were 
made  comfortable  by  Mr.  McBride.  Within  a  few 
hours  they  met  Messrs.  North,  Dickinson,  Abeel, 
Stronach,  Davenport,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Savelli. 
Mr.  North  had  a  mission  school  and  Mr.  McBride 

[49] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

had  a  school  of  nine  Chinese  pupils.  They  also  met 
Mr.  Keasbury,  who  had  a  school  of  thirteen  boys 
and  a  lithographic  press.  He  lectured  in  Malay  on 
Sunday  mornings. 

The  missionaries  held  a  prayer  meeting,  conducted 
by  Mr.  McBaylis,  the  Chinese  teacher,  in  the  school- 
room, which  was  attended  also  by  several  Chinese, 
most  of  them  the  missionaries'  servants,  and  boys  of 
the  school.  After  hearing  Mr.  Abeel  preach.  Dr. 
Hepburn  wrote:  "He  is  a  very  affectionate,  pointed, 
plain,  practical  and  elegant  preacher.  He  faces 
the  truth  in  his  own  heart.  In  the  afternoon,  these 
teachers  taught  themselves  in  a  mutually  delightful 
Bible  class.  In  the  evening,  Mr.  Stronach  preached 
in  English,  but  with  a  good  Scotch  brogue." 
y^  Concluding  to  remain  at  Singapore,  Dr.  Hepburn 
renewed  his  study  of  Malay,  and  soon  became  very 
fond  of  his  teacher,  Abdoulla. 

The  first  view  of  a  native  funeral  was  interesting, 
as  it  passed  before  the  missionary's  gate.  "  It  seemed 
to  be  rather  a  disorderly  procession  of  thirty  or  forty 
men.  The  body  was  laid  in  a  palanquin,  carried  on 
the  shoulders  of  four  men  dressed  in  white.  The 
bier  was  hung  with  white  and  decorated  with  cut 
paper.  The  bearers  walked  on  white  long  cloth, 
which  was  laid  down  for  them.  It  was  attended  by 
a  monotonous  noise  of  beating  of  drums  and  occa- 
sional discharge  of  a  musket.  There  appeared  to 
be  no  solemnity  or  seriousness,  but  much  anxiety  to 
show  themselves." 

[50] 


THE    DUTCH    EAST    INDIES 

On  September  i,  the  Doctor  wrote:  "Yesterday- 
was  one  of  the  great  days  among  the  Chinese,  The 
streets  in  their  quarter  were  alive  and  crowded  with 
people.  Here  and  there  was  a  table  set  out,  groan- 
ing under  the  provisions  with  which  it  was  loaded. 
Fruits  of  every  description,  fowls,  also,  and  pork  were 
common.  Flowers  and  cut  paper,  and  —  in  one  place 
—  a  huge  and  hideous  image  was  set  up.  This  day 
was  in  honor  of  the  disconsolate  ghosts,  who  are  sup- 
posed to  partake  of  the  food  prepared  for  them.  It  is 
suffered  to  remain  untouched  until  after  nine  p.m., 
when  they  all  set  to  and  devour  what  the  ghosts 
leave,  which  is  not  a  small  part  of  the  whole.  Some- 
times the  provisions  are  placed  on  a  high  scaffold 
for  the  poor,  who  have  a  great  scrabbling  for  it,  with 
not  a  few  broken  shins.  The  Chinese,  it  is  said,  do 
not  believe  in  it  themselves,  but  merely  retain  the 
custom  because  it  is  a  custom."  n 

After  such  a  long  tossing  on  the  ocean,  the  Doctor 
felt  that  it  must  be  almost  sinful  to  be  so  comfort- 
able and  happy.  He  wrote:  "How  many  are  the 
privileges  we  enjoy  in  this  land  of  heathenism!  We 
all  have  pretty  good  health  and  food  and  raiment. 
.  .  .  We  get  along  very  comfortably  —  I  am  afraid^ 
too  much  so." 

From  the  first  he  taught  the  boys  singing.  He 
found  this  a  difficult  task,  for  their  voices  were  harsh 
and  lacked  fullness  of  tone.  An  additional  reason 
for  their  slow  improvement  was  their  inattention. 
"But,"  added  the  Doctor,  "this  may  be  owing  to 

[511 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

my  inability  to  make  the  study  interesting."  He 
invested  some  cash  in  Chinese  idols  to  send  home  to 
awaken  interest.  There  were  two  things  Dr.  Hep- 
burn always  beheved.  One  was  that  interest  in  such 
an  altruistic  work  as  foreign  missions  —  an  enter- 
prise so  antipodally  opposed  to  selfish,  six  per  cent 
ideas  —  must  be  constantly  stimulated  and  persist- 
ently nourished;  and  that,  while  teaching  and  preach- 
ing are  such  natural  procedures,  pupils  and  hearers 
must  be  attracted,  or  else,  as  is  probable,  the  fault 
Hes  with  the  preacher  or  teacher.  He  was  bound 
to  be  interesting  and  he  was. 

It  was  while  at  Singapore  that  he  met  Rev.  Samuel 
Robbins  Brown,  "A  Maker  of  the  New  Orient,"  and 
his  wife,  who  were  visiting  this  port  for  Mrs.  Brown's 
health.  This  was,  as  he  wrote,  "the  commence- 
ment of  an  intimacy  of  nearly  forty  years.  How 
Httle  we  thought  then  that  we  should  labor  twenty 
years  together  in  Japan." 

Singapore  was  soon  to  be  left  for  China,  but  not 
before  a  new  link,  in  the  chain  of  associations  with 
this  their  first  field  of  labor,  was  to  be  forged  for  the 
Hepburns.  Here  was  born  their  first  living  child, 
a  son,  whose  stay  on  earth  was  but  a  few  hours.  How 
many  missionaries,  all  over  the  world,  away  from  the 
homeland  have  had  this  experience!  Committing,  in 
ahen  soil,  to  the  care  of  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life, 
the  precious  form  of  what  they  would  gladly  retain 
as  the  Father's  gift,  they  have  gone  forward,  with  sad, 
sweet  memories,  to  a  more  earnest  consecration. 

[52] 


VII 
INHOSPITABLE  CHINA 

WE  must  now  glance  at  the  educational 
invasion  of  farther  Asia  by  the  American 
missionary  pioneers,  of  whom  James 
Curtis  Hepburn  —  who  lived  under  twenty-four 
presidents  and  many  administrations,  from  Madison 
to  Taft — was  one.  Among  the  most  brilliant  of  these 
four-year  epochs,  perhaps  the  most  brilliant  of  all, 
as  to  our  foreign  relations,  were  those  of  Andrew 
Jackson  and  Millard  Fillmore.  It  is  certain  that  the 
action  of  these  able  rulers  affected  most  profoundly 
both  the  nation  and  Dr.  Hepburn's  Hfe. 

Under  Andrew  Jackson  Captain  Edmund  Roberts, 
of  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  was  sent  out  as  our 
initial  American  envoy  to  the  kingdoms  of  Asia.  In 
1832,  he  embarked  on  the  U.  S,  man-of-war,  Peacock, 
with  the  hope  of  making  treaties  with  the  states  of 
Muscat,  Siam,  Annam,  China  and  Japan.  He 
succeeded  in  opening  diplomatic  and  commercial 
relations  with  Muscat,  the  Mohammedan  African 
state,  and  on  March  30,  1833,  concluded  a  treaty  of 
amity  and  commerce  with  Siam,  the  Land  of  the 

[53] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

Free.  The  second  paragraph  of  this  international 
document  is  quaintly  interesting. 

"One  original  is  written  in  Siamese,  the  other  in 
EngUsh;  but  as  the  Siamese  are  ignorant  of  EngHsh 
and  the  Americans  of  Siamese,  a  Portuguese  and  a 
Chinese  translation  are  annexed  to  serve  as  testimony 
to  the  contents  of  the  treaty.  The  writing  is  of 
the  same  tenor  and  date  in  all  the  languages  afore- 
said. It  is  signed  on  the  one  part  with  the  name  of 
the  Chau  P'haya-P'hra-Klang,  and  sealed  with  the 
lotus  flower  of  glass;  on  the  other  part,  it  is  signed 
with  the  name  of  Edmund  Roberts,  and  sealed  with 
the  seal  containing  an  eagle  and  stars." 

This  treaty — -guaranteeing  a  "perpetual  peace 
between  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  Mag- 
nificent King  of  Siam"  —  was  duly  ratified  and  pro- 
claimed June  24,  1837. 

China  was  not  yet  open  to  missionary  work,  for 
Edmund  Roberts  died  June  12,  1836,  at  Macao,  the 
city  then  occupied  by  the  Portuguese,  and  his  tomb, 
duly  inscribed,  is  in  the  Protestant  cemetery.  In 
St.  John's  church  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire, 
a  memorial  window  in  his  honor,  reared  by  his  loyal 
granddaughter,  the  late  Mrs.  John  V.  L.  Pruyn,  of 
Albany,  commemorates  his  life  and  work.  It  was 
expected  that  ultimately  Dr.  Hepburn  would  be 
transferred  to  the  Chinese  field. 

The  burden  of  prayer  in  Christian  hearts  in  these 
days  was  for  the  opening  of  the  great  reservoir  of 
Chinese  humanity  to   the   everlasting  gospel.    The 

[541 


INHOSPITABLE    CHINA 

Church  was  not  then  troubled,  as  she  is  now,  with 
the  problems  of  amazing  success  and  extended 
development. 

When  China  was  opened,  through  the  so-called 
Opium  War,  the  Hepburns  broke  up  their  home  in 
Singapore  and  took  ship  to  Macao.  They  arrived 
June  9,  1843,  ^^d  made  their  home  with  Dr.  S.  Wells 
WiUiams  and  Rev.  Walter  M.  Lowrie.  In  this  his- 
toric port  and  city,  then  considered  Portuguese  ter- 
ritory, they  were  destined  to  spend  the  summer. 
To  the  Doctor  especially,  Macao  yielded  much  of 
interest  in  his  hours  of  recreation. 

As  early  as  15 16,  the  Portuguese,  pioneers  in  the 
Far  East,  visited  this  place,  and  gradually  there 
followed  envoys  with  presents,  but  the  violent  dis- 
position of  some  of  the  commanders  brought  on 
quarrels  and  war.  The  Portuguese,  however,  came 
again  and  built  churches  and  fortifications.  Thus 
their  settlement  gradually  grew  in  numbers  and 
strength,  but  the  land  was  never  formally  ceded  by 
the  Chinese.  The  rule  of  Portugal  at  Macao  could 
rest  absolutely  only  so  long  as  it  remained  unchal- 
lenged by  the  Chinese  Government. 

Pope  Gregory  III  erected  Macao  into  an  Episco- 
pal see  and  at  least  thirteen  bishops  were  conse- 
crated in  succession  to  this  post.  The  Jesuits 
followed  in  1585,  the  settlers  assumed  the  title  of 
the  City  of  the  Holy  Name  of  God,  and  were  given  by 
the  home  government  the  same  rank  and  privileges  as 
those  of  Goa,  in  India.     Throughout  the  eighteenth 

[55  1 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

century  Macao  prospered  and  even  into  the  nine- 
teenth century  it  flourished,  as  the  outlet  of  trade 
and  the  residence  of  many  foreigners. 

During  the  troubles  of  the  Opium  War,  from  1839 
to  1 84 1,  the  British  residents  left  the  city  for  greater 
security.  When,  by  the  treaty  of  1842,  Hong  Kong 
became  a  British  possession,  Macao  was  doomed  to 
decay.  Various  fortunes  attended  Macao,  until  in 
our  day  the  Chinese  again  assumed  sovereignty  over 
the  city  and  neighborhood. 

Macao  has  been  likened  to  Cadiz,  in  shape,  because 
the  two  cities,  so  far  apart,  strikingly  resemble  each 
other.  Three  hills,  between  two  and  three  hundred 
feet  high  and  connected  by  an  irregular  table-land, 
upon  which  the  town  is  built,  constitute  the  seaward 
portion  of  the  peninsula.  The  village  of  Mungha, 
embosomed  in  trees  and  ornamented  with  a  pretty 
temple,  lying  a  short  distance  within  the  barrier,  is 
noted  as  the  spot  at  which  the  treaty  between  China 
and  the  United  States  was  signed,  in  July,  1844. 

The  wall  inclosing  the  oldest  part  of  the  town, 
pierced  with  two  gates,  was  constructed  —  according 
to  local  tradition  —  by  the  Dutch  prisoners  of  war 
who  were  captured  June  24,  1622.  They  had  come 
in  a  fleet  of  sixteen  sail,  to  seize  Macao,  but  were 
repulsed  with  great  loss. 

In  the  Portuguese,  Parsee,  English,  and  the  old 
Protestant  cemeteries  of  Macao,  are  many  notable 
monuments,  for  many  illustrious  men  from  the  West 
died  at  Macao.    Among  the  tombs  are  those  of  Rev. 

[561 


INHOSPITABLE    CHINA 

Robert  Morrison,  the  famous  pioneer  in  Chinese 
scholarship  and  Bible  translation;  of  his  son,  J,  R, 
Morrison,  a  distinguished  public  servant;  and  of 
Edmund  Roberts,  our  first  American  envoy  in  Asia. 

The  principal  spot,  which  every  visitor  is  expected 
to  visit,  is  Camoens  Grotto,  the  favorite  resort  of  the 
immortal  poet,  while  in  banishment  here. 

The  charming  walks,  the  sea  bathing,  the  hot 
springs,  and  the  legends  that  attach  to  the  ruins  and 
forts — like  ivy  to  an  oak,  lending  a  romantic  charm 
to  the  place  —  gave  the  Hepburns  much  to  enjoy, 
while  they  waited  for  their  final  move  into  China 
proper. 

They  sailed  to  Amoy  in  October,  1843,  to  join 
Rev.  David  Abeel  and  Dr.  W.  H.  Cumming,  his  fel- 
low laborer  in  the  hospital  and  dispensary,  which 
the  two  carried  on  together;  British  soldiers  occu- 
pied the  place  from  September,  1841,  to  December, 

1845. 

Amoy  has  special  interest  because  of  its  touch  with 
American  history.  It  was  from  this  port  that  the 
tea  ships  of  the  East  India  Company  sailed  to  Boston 
to  furnish  a  brew  of  Bohea  on  a  scale  not  only  un- 
known before,  when  the  entire  cargo  was  dumped  by 
the  Boston  "Mohawks"  into  the  salt  water  of  the 
bay,  but  which  made  a  tempest  in  a  teapot  assume 
continental  and  oceanic  proportions.  Here,  curi- 
ously enough,  the  Chinese  word  cha  —  so  pronounced 
elsewhere  —  is  pronounced  tea. 

Even  before  a.d.  1800,  Amoy  was  celebrated  as  a 
[571 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

trading  port  and  the  Amoy  sailors  traded  in  India 
and  as  far  as  Persia,  and  Marco  Polo  mentions  the 
name  of  the  prefectural  city  not  far  from  the  port  of 
Amoy.  As  early  as  1544,  the  Portuguese  were  at 
Amoy  in  large  numbers,  but  the  Chinese  drove  them 
out  of  the  port,  burning  thirteen  of  their  ships  and  kill- 
ing about  four  hundred  and  fifty  of  their  crew.  Both 
Dutch,  English,  and  Portuguese  traded  at  Amoy 
until  1730,  when  the  Chinese  Government  centered 
the  foreign  trade  at  Canton,  but  intercourse  con- 
tinued irregularly,  with  the  Spaniards  and  others 
at  Amoy.  In  1841,  the  city  was  captured  by  the 
British  forces,  and  by  the'  treaty  of  Nanking  was 
opened  again  to  foreign  trade.  Amoy  is  perhaps 
the  most  accessible  for  foreign  ships  of  all  Chinese 
ports,  no  pilots  being  necessary. 

The  name  Amoy  is  the  local  pronunciation  of  Hia- 
mun,  that  is,  the  Gate  of  Hia.  Many  pagodas  and 
temples,  serving  as  landmarks,  and  often  embowered 
in  groves  of  the  grouping  banyan  trees  and  very  pic- 
turesquely situated,  stand  on  the  island,  which  is 
about  forty-five  miles  in  circuit.  However,  the 
nakedness  of  the  gulhed,  water-worn  hills,  with  their 
scanty  vegetation  and  bleak  sides,  detracts  greatly 
from  the  natural  beauty  of  a  city  which  outwardly 
is  so  easily  reached,  though  it  has  poor  communica- 
tion with  the  interior. 

)f  Back  of  the  city  the  mountains  are  covered  with 
graves  and  tombs,  often  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock.  As 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  it  seemed  to  the  Doctor  con- 

[581 


A   HEATHEN    TEMPLE,    CHINA 


INHOSPITABLE    CHINA 

tinuous  Golgotha.  He  was  struck  with  the  great  pains  \ 
and  expense  taken  with  the  tombs  by  the  wealthy, 
though  in  the  city  it  was  not  uncommon  to  see  coffins 
of  the  poor  piled  in  stacks  until  they  wasted  into  their 
original  dust.  Indeed  all  China,  governed  as  it  was 
by  the  dead,  rather  than  by  the  hving,  seemed  in 
type  like  the  ancient  Roman  prisoner  chained  to  a 
corpse.  It  seemed  as  if  China  were  asking,  "Who 
shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?" 
Protruding  their  unseemly  forms  on  every  side  of 
the  pathways,  the  tombs  imparted  a  gloomy  aspect 
to  the  surrounding  scenery.  Nevertheless,  pleasant 
riding  and  walking  were  found  in  the  hinterland, 
which  was  thickly  studded  with  compactly  built 
villages,  which  teemed  with  human  beings,  who, 
too  often,  —  as  I  heard  Dr.  John  Talmage  say,  — ■ 
wasted  their  lives  and  properties  in  "clan  fights." 

Although  the  soil  of  the  island,  except  in  the  small 
valleys,  was  thin  and  unproductive,  Chinese  industry 
had  overcome  the  original  barrenness  of  the  ground, 
and  fairly  good  crops  were  secured.  The  nakedness 
of  the  land  where  the  hand  of  man  had  not  touched 
it,  appeared  by  contrast  all  the  more  shocking  and 
shameless.  Shade  trees  seemed  to  be  planted  only 
in  the  villages  and  around  the  temples.  Though 
animal  flesh  had  to  be  brought  from  the  mainland, 
as  a  rule,  the  city  markets  were  well  supplied  with 
meat  as  well  as  with  oranges,  plantain,  grapefruit, 
pears,  peaches  and  other  fruits  in  season. 

Probably  four  hundred  thousand  people  inhabited 
[59] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

the  one  hundred  and  forty  villages  on  the  island. 
Sometimes  the  tremendous  volume  of  human  life 
had  an  oppressive  effect  upon  the  spirits  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. The  Amoy  people  had  the  reputation  of 
being  bold,  proud  and  domineering,  but  generous  and 
hearty. 

The  visiting  foreigners  from  ship,  camp,  or  city, 
who  wished  to  gratify  their  enjoyment  of  the  hor- 
rible, amused  themselves  by  going  out  to  the  execu- 
tion ground,  where  heads  were  chopped  off  weekly. 
Those  who  would  study  history  visited  the  tomb  of 
Coxinga,  the  noted  pirate,  or  rebel  chief,  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  who  destroyed  the  Dutch  Chris- 
tian settlement  on  the  island  of  Formosa,  one  of  the 
first  —  as  it  was  the  largest  —  Protestant  missions 
then  known  in  the  world.  Coxinga  opposed  the 
invasion  of  the  Tartars,  that  is,  the  cavalry  raid  of 
the  Manchus,  who  were  deposed  in  favor  of  the 
republic,  in  191 2.  With  his  piratical  fleets,  he  ter- 
rorized the  coasts,  making  his  headquarters  for  many 
years  at  Amoy.  His  old  forts,  watchtowers,  intrench- 
ments,  and  supposed  burial  place  were  pointed  out. 
He  was  commemorated  in  statues  of  colossal  size, 
hewn  out  of  solid  granite,  nearly  nine  feet  in  height, 
the  efi&gy  of  the  horse,  with  the  curiously  devised 
and  wrought  caparisons,  being  finely  chiseled  in  stone. 
Of  course,  like  most  other  Chinese  monuments,  these 
had  been  mutilated  by  the  European  barbarians. 

About  1664,  the  Dutch  had  a  trading  factory  here 
and  parts  of  the  old  wall  were  still  standing.    Tri- 

[60] 


INHOSPITABLE    CHINA 

umphal  arches  with  figures  of  Dutchmen,  sculptured 
on  them  in  relief,  stood  near  the  site  of  the  former 
British  consulate. 

During  most  of  their  time,  the  Hepburns  resided  on 
Kolongsu  island,  in  the  western  part  of  the  harbor, 
where  was  the  foreign  settlement,  and  which  was 
once  strongly  fortified  by  the  Chinese.  Here  their 
next  child,  a  son,  was  born.  This  son  the  biographer 
had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  in  Japan  in  1874.  After 
his  father's  death,  in  191 1,  he  turned  over  the  books, 
documents,  diaries  and  papers,  which  have  been 
used  in  preparing  this  biography. 

Fresh  water  was  plentiful  because  the  soil  was 
granitic.  Water  pipes  and  spouts  of  bamboo  con- 
veyed streams  to  the  shore  for  the  purpose  of  watering 
boats.  In  the  center  of  the  island  was  a  singular 
mass  of  granite,  in  the  form  of  immense  rounded 
blocks,  rising  two  hundred  feet  high.  Many  for- 
eigners tried  to  scale  this  apex,  but  few  succeeded 
in  doing  it.  There  were  many  ruined  shrines,  and 
the  whole  island  seemed  to  be  covered  with  graves, 
each  headed  with  a  tombstone  and  the  peculiar 
Omega-shaped  embankment  so  common  in  China. 

Open  to  the  breezes  from  whatever  quarter,  Amoy 
was  usually  a  healthy  place,  but  typhoons  were 
rather  frequent  in  their  visitation.  The  foreign 
cemetery,  which  is  now  only  too  well  occupied,  cov- 
ered about  two  acres  in  extent  within  a  walled  inclo- 
sure.  Worship  was  held  in  either  the  clubhouse,  or 
the  consulate.    Later  Rev.  John  Alexander  Stronach 

[611 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

built  a  neat  little  chapel,  and  preached  to  the 
community. 

Tigers  were  then  rather  frequent  in  the  hinterland, 
hiding  among  its  bowlders,  and  even  down  into  our 
day,  furnishing  capital  sport  for  the  hunters  with 
breech-loaders.  The  conspicuous  bushy  tail  of  the 
fox  was  much  in  evidence,  but,  except  that  he  occa- 
sionally circumvented  the  noisy  watch  cur  of  the 
villages  and  made  off  with  a  fowl,  he  seemed  to  have 
had  nothing  like  his  European  cousin's  reputation 
for  cunning.  The  weasel  was  more  than  rival  to  the 
fox,  though  in  transformation  stories  taking  the 
place  of  the  wolves  of  our  ancestors,  truly  believed 
in  as  changelings.  This  animal,  of  buff-colored  fur 
and  measuring  eighteen  inches,  had  a  bad  name  for 
ravaging  the  hen  roosts,  but  stood  well  with  the 
people  when  he  varied  his  diet  with  rats,  of  which 
there  were  various  species,  both  numerous  and 
troublesome,  especially  when  high  tide  drove  them 
out  of  human  habitations  into  the  open,  to  seek 
food  and  refuge. 

Birds  were  plentiful,  such  as  the  kestrel,  falcon, 
sparrow  hawk,  buzzard,  kite,  the  osprey,  the  great 
and  the  sparrow  owl,  the  butcher  bird,  or  shrike, 
the  thrush,  the  magpie-robin  and  the  tailor  bird. 
The  white  heron  was  a  striking  figure  in  the  irrigated 
rice  fields. 

These  were  the  days  before  the  malevolent  func- 
tion of  the  Anopheles  mosquito,  as  a  disease  carrier, 
had  been  suspected,  and  also  previous  to  the  amaz- 

[621 


INHOSPITABLE    CHINA 

ing  triumphs  of  science,  through  which  military  sta- 
tions in  the  tropics  have  been  made  among  the  health- 
iest in  the  world.  Soon  after  Dr.  Hepburn's  arrival, 
he  found  that  the  English  soldiers  were  dying  off 
numerously.  Then,  before  many  months  had  passed, 
he  and  his  wife  were  down  with  the  malarial  fever. 

There  was  no  lack  of  congenial  companionship, 
for  this  was  the  rallying  point  of  that  picket  line  of 
educational  pioneers  in  Asia,  who  began  the  work 
whose  fruits  are  seen  to-day.  In  later  years,  in  Japan, 
Dr.  Hepburn  delighted  to  tell  about  his  early  life  at 
Amoy,  where  he  was  intimate  with  Morrison,  Milne, 
Medhurst,  Muirhead,  Peter  Parker,  Abeel,  Walter 
Lowrie,  Bridgman  and  Culbertson. 

The  climate  and  the  water,  however,  were  very 
hard  on  the  missionary  women,  and  within  a  few 
months  four  of  these  died.  Of  the  men,  two  were 
drowned,  one  of  whom,  Walter  Lowrie,  was  captured 
and  thrown  overboard  by  the  Chinese  pirates,  who 
long  infested  these  waters.  Yet  true  it  is,  "through 
the  dear  might  of  Him  that  walked"  on  Galilee, 

"  They  sleep  as  well  beneath  the  purple  waves 
As  those  whose  graves  are  green." 

Hoping  to  recuperate,  the  Hepburns  went  back  to 
Macao  for  a  time,  but  not  improving,  they  reluctantly 
decided  to  come  home  and  so  left  for  New  York 
in  the  ship  Panama,  Capt.  Griswold,  Nov.  30,  1845. 
After  a  voyage  of  three  months  and  a  half,  they 
arrived  in  New  York,  March  5,  1846,  just  five  years 
from  the  day  of  sailing  from  Boston. 

[63] 


VIII 
THE  METROPOLITAN  PHYSICIAN 

REFORMED  Christendom  recognizes  the  great 
Prussian,  Karl  Friedrich  August  Gutzlaff, 
as  the  modern  "Apostle  to  China."  In 
1826,  under  appointment  of  the  Netherlands  Mis- 
sionary Society,  he  went  out  to  Java,  mastered  the 
Chinese  language  and  entered  upon  a  career  of  vast 
usefulness.  Two  years  later,  he  moved  to  Singapore 
and  then  to  Bangkok,  where  he  translated  the  Bible 
into  Siamese.  He  made  various  voyages  along  the 
coasts  of  China  and  Korea,  and  published  several 
books  on  China  and  some  in  Chinese.  The  work, 
however,  which  links  his  name  with  Japan,  was  his 
attempt  at  a  translation  of  the  Gospels  into  the  lan- 
guage of  the  far  eastern  archipelago,  then  isolated 
from  the  world. 

Some  of  these  innumerable  waifs,  periodically 
driven  out  to  sea  by  storms,  which,  from  before  the 
days  of  history,  strewed  the  Nippon  islanders  as 
seed  along  the  shores  of  Asia,  America  and  the  Pacific 
Islands,  reached  Macao  in  Gutzlaff's  time.  From 
these  Japanese  sailors,  uneducated  and  ignorant  men 
as   they  were,  he  learned  a  measure   of  Japanese. 

[64  1 


METROPOLITAN    PHYSICIAN 

Forthwith,  with  poor  tools  and  material,  rudely,  but 
probably  for  the  first  time  in  history,  a  complete  book 
of  the  Bible  was  put  into  Japanese. 

The  characters  used  were  those  of  the  i-ro-ha 
(kata-kana,  or  square  syllabary),  of  which  there  are 
forty-seven.  The  manuscript  was  first  pasted,  face 
downward,  on  blocks.  Then  the  paper  was  rubbed 
off  piecemeal  with  the  moistened  ball  of  the  finger, 
leaving  the  ink  upon  the  board,  from  which  all  but 
the  black  lines  on  the  surface  was  cut  by  native  work- 
men. This  little  book  was  printed  in  1838,  on  the 
press  of  the  American  Board  at  Singapore. 

Dr.  Hepburn,  on  seeing  this  very  strange  text,  in 
1841,  inquired  into  its  history,  secured  a  copy  and 
with  other  curiosities  sent  it  on  to  New  York.  It 
was  duly  deposited  in  the  Ubrary  at  the  Mission 
Rooms,  in  Centre  Street,  New  York  City,  to  slum- 
ber, perhaps  untouched,  until  1859.  We  shall  hear 
of  this  little  book  again. 

Gutzlaff  supported  himself  most  of  the  time  inde- 
pendently of  any  mission  board,  serving  for  a  while 
as  interpreter  and  secretary  of  the  British  Legation, 
thus  helping  to  bridge  the  gulf  between  Orient  and 
Occident,  or  rather,  between  two  of  the  most  conceited 
peoples  in  the  world.  He  practiced  medicine  and  was 
greatly  beloved  by  the  Chinese.  In  1844,  foreigners 
not  yet  being  allowed  to  penetrate  into  the  interior, 
Gutzlaff  founded  a  training  school  for  native  gospel- 
ers,  and  in  four  years  forty-eight  young  Chinese  were 
sent  out  to  preach  Christ  among  their  countrymen. 

[65] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

He  died  in  185 1,  but  men  kindled  by  the  message 
from  his  lips  or  pen,  took  up  his  work.  Verbeck  of 
Japan  heard  his  living  voice  in  the  Moravian  church 
at  Zeist  in  Holland  and  the  boy's  imagination  was 
touched.  Long  afterwards,  when  ill  in  Arkansas, 
Gutzlaff's  voice,  reenforced  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  bade 
this  Americanized  Dutchman  arise  and  prepare  for 
that  forty  years  of  service  which  made  his  name  an 
indelible  record  in  Japanese  history.  David  Living- 
stone, at  Blantyre,  toiling  at  his  spinning  jenny  in 
a  cotton  mill,  read  Gutzlaff's  "Appeal,"  and  resolved 
to  obey  his  Master's  call  to  China.  The  Opium  War 
hindered  his  going  east,  so  at  Moffatt's  suggestion  he 
gave  his  life  to  Africa.  How  many  others  followed 
the  Master,  because  his  servant  Gutzlaff  pointed  the 
way,  may  never  be  known  on  earth.  The  Prus- 
sian lighted  a  beacon  in  the  Orient  and  many  saw  and 
were  glad.  "Behold  how  much  wood  is  kindled  by 
how  small  a  fire !  " 

It  was  while  Gutzlaff's  messages  were  thrilling  elect 
L'-  souls  in  Europe  that  Hepburn  —  beaten  back  from 
his  goal,  h'ke  the  arctic  explorer  who  finally  compels 
victory  —  reached  New  York.  His  first  missionary 
experience,  lasting  five  years,  seemed  almost  a  total 
personal  loss,  as  well  as  a  great  disappointment.  No 
other  opportunity  for  missionary  usefulness  pre- 
sented itself,  and  it  looked  as  though  he  must  end  his 
life  as  a  medical  practitioner  among  his  fellow  Amer- 
icans. For  thirteen  years,  he  was  an  active  citizen 
■^  in  New  York,  when  the  great  city  lay  for  the  most 

[66] 


METROPOLITAN    PHYSICIAN 

part  south  of  Fourteenth  Street.  Nevertheless  he 
still  cherished  secret  hopes  of  returning  to  his  chosen 
field. 

From  a  very  small  beginning,  his  practice  gradu- 
ally improved,  until  it  was  more  than  sufficient  for  his 
own  support.  Twice  he  passed  through  epidemics 
of  cholera  and  won  golden  opinions  by  his  success. 
He  made  a  specialty  of  diseases  of  the  eye  and  gained 
notable  fame  as  an  oculist.  He  was  always  active  in 
church  work. 

"When  you  were  practicing  in  New  York,  didn't 
you  find  that  you  couldn't  get  time  to  go  to  church?" 
asked  a  physician  of  him  once,  in  Yokohama. 

"  I  had  no  difficulty  in  getting  good  practice  in  New 
York.  There's  always  room  at  the  top  of  the  lad- 
der," said  Japan's  factotum,  with  a  mischievous 
look,  "and  I  made  it  a  point  to  go  to  church,  too, 
and  I  sang  in  the  choir.  '  Where  there's  a  will  there's 
a  way.'" 

The  future  seemed  to  open  to  him  all  that  a  physi- 
cian and  a  Christian  layman  could  desire.  Husband 
and  wife  were  happy  in  their  environment.  Yet 
his  household  was  not  free  from  sorrow.  Three 
children,  all  boys,  were  born  to  them  in  the  New 
York  home,  but  all  died  of  scarlet  fever  and  dysen- 
tery, at  the  ages  of  five,  two,  and  one  years,  respec- 
tively. After  the  death  of  her  beautiful  boy,  Charles, 
Mrs.  Hepburn  took  charge  of  the  class  in  the  infant 
school  of  which  her  little  son  had  been  a  member. 
So  it  came  to  pass,  in  God's  providence,  that  his 

[67] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

household  being  reduced  to  the  same  number  as 
when  in  China,  the  Doctor  could  all  the  more  easily 
move,  when  the  call  should  come  to  go  out  and  heal 
the  unhealed  milhons  of  the  East. 

The  events  which  led  to  the  return  to  the  Orient 
began  in  1853,  when  the  government  of  the  United 
States  made  a  more  powerful  impression  upon  the 
world  at  large  than  by  any  act  done  since  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  in  1776.  President  Fill- 
more —  not  a  prophet,  but  a  man  of  initiative  and 
constructive  statesmanship  — •  dispatched  a  fleet  to 
Thornrose  Castle  in  the  far  Pacific,  under  command 
of  the  brother  of  the  hero  of  Lake  Erie.  Commodore 
Matthew  Perry,  through  consummate  diplomatic 
skill,  won  the  Japanese  to  open  —  but  only  on  a 
crack  —  the  door  of  their  long-sealed  hermit  empire. 
He  was  not  successful  in  persuading  the  islanders 
to  allow  commerce  and  the  residence  of  merchants 
or  missionaries. 

The  honor  of  this  great  achievement  was  reserved 
for  Townsend  Harris,  an  ex-New  York  merchant  and 
former  president  of  the  Board  of  Education  in  the 
city  of  New  York.  By  patience,  adroitness  and  skill 
as  a  diplomatist,  and  severe  labor  during  many  months 
as  a  teacher  and  enlightener,  he  persuaded  the  Yedo 
Government  to  open  four  ports  to  foreign  residence 
and  commerce.  The  date  was  fixed  for  July  4,  1859, 
when  Yokohama,  Nagasaki  and  Hakodate  were  to 
be  laid  out  as  foreign  settlements,  and  business 
was  to  begin.    Dr.  Hepburn  had  read  Commodore 

[681 


METROPOLITAN    PHYSICIAN 

Perry's  ''Narrative,"  edited  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Francis 
Hawks,  a  New  York  Episcopal  rector,  and  was  in- 
tensely interested.  Even  greater  was  his  joy,  when 
he  read  the  provisions  of  the  Harris  treaty,  which 
meant  the  opening  of  the  empire  to  Western  civil- 
ization and  pure  religion. 

There  were  Christian  men  at  that  time  in  the 
waters  of  Japan,  who  took  in  the  situation.  They 
foresaw  both  the  conditions,  the  difficulties  and  the 
promises  of  missionary  success.  One  half  of  the 
triumphs  —  ''brain-victories"  the  Japanese  call  them 
—  over  ignorance,  bigotry  and  prejudice  are  won, 
when  a  frontal  attack  on  these  rocky  fortifications 
is  avoided  and  a  well-planned  rear  or  flank  move- 
ment is  made.  Especially  is  this  true  if  the  new- 
comers can  not  only  disarm  would-be  opponents, 
but  can  so  throw  the  Hght  upon  the  supposed  phan- 
toms and  bugbears  that  dance  as  specters  in  the 
brains  of  unsocial  hermits,  as  to  make  the  bullies, 
the  bigots  and  the  ignoramuses  ridiculous  in  their 
own  eyes.  Now  the  Japanese,  almost  all  then,  and 
milHons  of  them  now,  know  nothing  about  the  Chris- 
tianity of  Jesus,  having  only  vague  and  distorted 
notions  as  to  what  his  service  is.  Their  fancies  bear 
as  much  resemblance  to  reaHty  as  do  the  visions  of  a 
nightmare-ridden  man,  or  the  victim  of  deHrium 
tremens,  to  reality.  Rural  Japan  is  still,  for  the  most 
part,  frightfully  pagan. 

Happily,  in  1859,  there  were  three  Americans  who 
grasped  the  situation.    By  their  influence  and  per- 

[69] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

sonality,  they  were  able  to  guide  the  Christian  attack 
upon  Japanese  disease,  moral  filth  and  ignorance, 
and  to  plan  the  educational  conquest  of  the  country. 
A  refined  Dutch  gentleman,  Mr.  Donker  Curtius, 
who  had  just  signed  a  treaty  of  commerce  with  the 
Japanese,  dropped  the  remark  that  gave  these  three 
men  their  topic  of  deliberation.  One  of  this  trio 
was  Dr.  S.  Wells  WilHams,  formerly  interpreter  for 
Commodore  Perry,  and  then  secretary  to  the  Amer- 
ican Legation  in  China.  To-day,  his  fame  as  the 
author  of  the  best  book  yet  written  in  any  language 
on  China,  and  as  printer,  lexicographer,  missionary, 
diplomatist,  friend  and  adviser  of  the  Chinese,  and 
general  pioneer  of  Christianity,  civilization  and  Amer- 
icanism in  the  Far  East,  is  as  steadily  sure  as  is  the 
shining  sun.  Beside  him  were  Rev.  E.  W.  Syle,  of 
the  American  Episcopal  Church,  then  sailors'  chap- 
lain at  Shanghai,  and  later  rector  of  Christ  Church 
in  Yokohama.  He  had  married  the  sister  of  Hon. 
Henry  Winter  Davis  of  Maryland  and  was  a  shin- 
ing instance  of  an  Englishman  reenforced  with  Amer- 
ican ideas.  The  third  man  was  Rev.  Henry  Wood, 
naval  chaplain  of  the  U.  S.  frigate  Minnesota, 
and  later  of  the  Powhatan.  At  Nagasaki,  six  young 
Japanese  invited  him  to  become  their  instructor 
during  his  stay  in  port. 

The  Dutch,  having  always  been  friendly  to  the 
Americans,  had  smoothed  the  way  for  Perry  both 
at  home  and  at  Nagasaki.  King  William  II  of  the 
Netherlands  had  even  personally  recommended  the 

[701 


METROPOLITAN    PHYSICIAN 

Japanese  to  open  their  country  to  the  great  republic; 
and  Mr.  Curtius,  the  Dutch  consul,  having  talked 
with  many  Japanese  officers,  told  Dr.  Williams  that 
they  were  ready  to  allow  all  possible  trading  priv- 
ileges to  foreigners,  "if  a  way  could  be  found  to  keep 
opium  and  Christianity  out  of  the  country." 

In  other  words,  if  the  Japanese  could  prevent  the 
so-called  Christian  powers  from  forcing  on  them  a 
poisonous  drug  that  debauched  human  bodies  and 
souls,  and  if  they  could  keep  out  the  dreaded  "pes- 
tilential sect  called  Christian" — -then  inextricably 
joined,  as  they  supposed,  to  pohtical  power  and 
armed  force  —  they  would  be  liberal-minded  on  the 
subject  of  commercial  intercourse. 

Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams  was  a  profound  student, 
both  of  history  and  of  human  nature.  He  saw  at 
once  that  what  the  Japanese  feared  were  foreign 
intervention  and  domestic  political  perils  from  Brit- 
ish economics  and  State  Churchism.  In  a  word, 
the  Japanese  were  three  hundred  years  behind  the 
times  in  their  notions.  They  supposed  that  the 
old  dogma,  that  the  world  had  been  divided  in  half 
by  the  Pope  and  given  to  Spain  and  Portugal,  was 
still  valid.  They  imagined  that,  in  another  form,  the 
Inquisition  and  political  interference  in  the  affairs 
of  the  Far  East  were  yet  the  ruUng  ideas  in  the  West. 
Of  the  free  Christianity  of  America  and  the  British 
colonies,  divorced  from  state  control  or  inspection, 
they  were  absolutely  ignorant. 

So  this  scholar  and  historian  called  together  his 
[711 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

two  fellow  lovers  of  the  Master  and  a  conference 
was  held,  probably  on  the  deck  of  the  Powhatan. 
They  resolved,  according  to  the  Japanese  proverb, 
to  attempt  the  traditionally  impossible,  and  to  "dis- 
perse a  fog  with  a  fan"  —  that  is,  blow  away  the 
dense  ignorance  of  the  Japanese  with  letters  home. 
Each  one  agreed  to  write  to  his  own  missionary 
board,  urging  them  to  be  careful  in  their  choice  of 
the  right  kind  of  men,  who  should  teach  the  Japa- 
nese what  true  Christianity  is  and  win  them  to  the 
true  faith. 

^  Nevertheless  the  watchmen  of  the  Church  had  not 
been  sleeping  at  their  posts.  In  1855,  the  Presby- 
terian Board  made  request  of  D.  B.  McCartee,  M.D., 
their  missionary  at  Ningpo,  China,  to  visit  Japan 
and  report  upon  its  possibilities  as  a  soil  for  gospel 
/    seed.    Going  to  Shanghai,  the  Doctor  found  it  impos- 

/  sible  to  procure  a  passage  to  any  Japanese  port. 
Nor  would  he  have  been  allowed  to  land,  if  he  had 
sailed;  for  the  Perry  treaty  opened  no  ports,  except 
to  sailors  in  need  or  in  stress  of  weather.  So  the 
Executive    Committee    in    New    York   waited   until 

y  the  Harris  treaty  opened  a  possible  door.  Then  it 
was  resolved  to  enter.  /The  call,  ''  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  had 
been  ringing  in  the  chambers  of  the  soul  of  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Hepburn.  Ever  ready  for  service,  they 
had  devoted  themselves  to  the  good  of  their  fellows; 
their   consuming   idea   was   obedience   to    God.     So 

*^  Dr.  Hepburn  turned  his  back  on  the  alluring  prospect 

[721 


METROPOLITAN    PHYSICIAN 

of  a  continually  increasing  and  lucrative  medical 
practice  in  a  metropolitan  city,  and — ^on  January  6, 
1859 — ^  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Board  offering  himself 
and  his  wife  for  the  new  field.  On  January  12, 
1859,  his  offer  was  accepted,  and  Dr.  J.  Z.  Nevius 
— at  that  time  in  China,  but  ready  to  take  service 
elsewhere  because  of  the  failure  of  the  health  of  Mrs. 
Nevius  —  was  appointed  associate  with  him  in  the 
new  enterprise.  This  action  was  as  the  wind  of  the 
Spirit  upon  the  smoking  flax.  Instantly  the  candle 
was  lighted  that  has  steadily  illuminated  humanity 
in  the  Japanese  archipelago  to  this  day.  "* 

The  central  port  opened  by  the  Townsend  Harris 
treaty  was  not  Yokohama,  which  was  then  a  little 
village  of  fishermen  — ■  the  Strand,  as  the  name  sig- 
nifies —  across  the  bay  from  Kanagawa.  The  lat- 
ter town,  which  was  named  in  the  treaties,  lay  on  the 
great  highway  to  Yedo,  called  the  Tokaido.  This 
Eastern  Sea  Road  had  received  its  name  centuries 
before,  when  the  center  of  civilized  Japan  was  in 
Kyoto  and  all  east  of  the  Hakone  mountains  was 
"Adzuma,"  or  the  Broad  (Wild)  East.  It  was  at 
Kanagawa  that  the  consulates  had  estabhshed  them- 
selves, while  the  foreign  merchants  insisted  on  Yoko- 
hama. 

Mr.  Harris  had  argued  the  matter  of  allowing 
teachers  and  missionaries  to  five  in  Japan.  In  his 
diary  of  June  8,  1867,  he  thus  summarized  his  point, 
made  after  eight  months  of  negotiation:  *'No  classes 
of  Americans  are  named  in  the  second  article,   so 

[73] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

that  missionaries  may  actually  come  and  reside  in 
Japan." 

Both  Commodore  Perry  and  Townsend  Harris 
were  men  of  pronounced  Christian  belief.  Among 
the  polished  pagans  of  Japan,  even  in  this  era  of 
Taisei  (1912 — h),  no  superstition  is  more  preva- 
lent, or  more  assiduously  fostered,  than  the  puerile 
notion  that  Christianity  is  an  outworn  system  of 
belief,  almost  wholly  rejected  by  the  "scholars"  and 
"thinking  men"  of  the  West.  In  the  face  of  facts, 
figures  and  common  sense,  this  stupid  hallucination 
still  largely  possesses  the  willing  and  credulous  mind 
of  intellectual  and  literary  as  well  as  rustic  and  too 
often  official  Japan.  It  is  certain  that  this  notion 
is  the  source  of  not  a  few  of  the  biggest  of  their  blun- 
ders made  in  recent  years. 

Happily,  however,  the  three  missionary  societies 
then  in  the  forefront  of  activity,  Episcopal,  Reformed 
and  Presbyterian,  heard  the  call  to  Japan  sent  by 
Williams,  Wood  and  Syle;  the  Presbyterians  tak- 
ing action  first,  though  the  Episcopal  churchmen, 
by  transferring  missionaries  from  China,  had  two 
of  them.  Rev.  C.  M.  Williams  and  John  Liggins, 
first  on  the  soil  of  Nippon.  The  Reformed  Protes- 
tant (Dutch)  Church  followed,  sending  Brown  and 
Verbeck. 

When  one  thinks  of  the  superb  quality  of  the  pio- 
neers, physical,  intellectual  and  spiritual,  two  of 
them  veterans,  that  were  sent  out  from  America,  he 
must  feel  that  the  Holy  Spirit  guided  those  in  author- 

[74  1 


METROPOLITAN    PHYSICIAN 

ity  at  home.  Dr.  Williams  wrote  with  joy,  "We 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  within  a  year  the  agents 
of  these  three  societies  in  Shanghai."  All  four  of 
those,  Williams,  Hepburn,  Verbeck  and  Brown, 
who  Uved  to  labor  in  Japan  longer  than  an  average 
Hfetime,  were  the  peers,  in  intellect  and  culture,  of 
the  very  best  of  their  countr3mien  at  home. 


[75 


rx 

JAPAN:    THE  LAND  OF  A  MILLION  SWORDS 

ON  March  29,  1859,  Dr.  Hepburn  was  made  a 
corresponding  member  of  the  American  Geo- 
graphical and  Statistical  Society,  the  docu- 
ment notifying  him  being  signed  by  Hon.  John  Hay. 
The  hope  was  expressed  that  he  would  contribute 
items,  letters,  or  memorials  on  subjects  relating  to 
Japan. 

On  April  24,  1859,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hepburn  left 
New  York  on  the  sailing  ship  Sancho  Panza,  Capt. 
Hale.  Samuel,  their  son,  was  sent  to  boarding 
school.  The  three  graves  in  which  the  little  chil- 
dren were  buried  were  left  behind. 

The  two  passengers  on  the  good  ship  were  not 
like  her  namesake,  the  rider  of  Rozinante,  going  out 
to  charge  windmills.  On  the  contrary,  these  "be- 
ginners of  a  better  time"  had  a  clear  idea  of  the  com- 
ing difficulties,  and  before  these  they  refused  to  quail. 
They  were  going  to  the  Land  of  a  MilHon  Swords, 
yet  not  one  of  these  was  sharp  enough  to  scare  them 
from  their  duty. 

In  feudal  Japan,  before  the  era  of  Meiji,  or  En- 
lightened Government,  each  one  of   all  the  samurai, 

[76] 


THE    LAND    OF    SWORDS 

or  gentlemen,  wore  two  swords.  A  brace  of  blades 
was  the  mark  of  the  privileged,  who  paid  no  taxes 
or  tolls  and  lived  off  the  labor  of  the  toiling  masses. 
Against  the  "foreign  devils,"  the  "hairy  foreigners," 
the  "bearded  to-jinj"  these  swords  were  all  too  ready- 
to  leap  forth.  Thousands  of  natives,  who  refused  to 
believe  that  the  mercantile  occupation  of  even  small 
lots  of  lands  at  the  seaports  meant  anything  else 
than  conquest,  were  ready  to  kill  at  sight.  These 
privileged  wearers  of  weapons  numbered  about  four 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  With  their  households, 
they  formed  "a  nation  within  a  nation"  of  about 
two  millions,  in  a  total  population  of  thirty  mil- 
lions. They  were  all  supposed  to  be  bound  in  feudal 
bonds  of  loyalty  to  their  barons  or  other  lords,  but 
thousands  of  them  were  free  lances,  who  had,  for  one 
cause  or  another,  left  the  service  of  their  masters, 
forming  a  dangerous  and  ever-terrorizing  element. 
All  Japan,  so  long  hermit,  while  then  helpless  before 
foreign  armies  and  navies,  was  within  an  armed 
camp.  There  were  in  the  empire  about  three  hun- 
dred castles,  with  walls,  towers,  strong  gates  and 
moats.    Its  status  was  that  of  an  armed  truce. 

Against  this  sort  of  courage  in  a  host  with  swords, 
Hepburn,  the  Christian  knight,  opposed  the  valor  of 
loyalty  to  his  Master,  and  the  love  of  his  fellow  men. 

The  ship  arrived  at  Shanghai,  China,  August  29. 
Detained  there  by  sickness  until  October  i,  the  Hep- 
bums  arrived  at  Kanagawa,  October  18,  1859,  just 
fifteen  days  before  their  colleagues  of  the  Reformed 

[771 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

(Dutch)  Church  in  America,  Rev.  Samuel  Robbins 
Brown  and  Mrs.  Brown. 

The  best  residence  that  could  be  found  was  an  old 
temple  of  the  Buddhists,  named  Jo-Butsu-Ti,  which 
had  been  rejected  by  the  Dutch  consul  as  a  stable. 
The  Hepburns  accepted  it  and  shared  it  as  a  habi- 
tation with  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Brown,  old  friends  who  had 
been  missionaries  in  China.  Considerable  carpenter 
work  was  necessary  in  order  to  divide  up  the  interior 
space  and  make  the  ancient  thatched  structure  hab- 
itable. When  idols  and  dirt  were  removed,  then 
began  the  unpacking  of  boxes  and  the  transformation 
of  the  new  apartments  into  a  home.  The  old  temple 
still  smelled  of  lamp  oil  and  the  smoke  of  joss  sticks, 
and  had  various  oriental  flavors  and  mystic  odors, 
so  that  in  some  places  abundant  whitewash  and  con- 
siderable scrubbing  were  necessary  to  tone  down 
the  century-old  deposits  to  suit  the  senses  of  the  new 
tenants. 

The  Japanese,  though  a  clean  people,  in  the  main, 
and  at  certain  points  fanatically  so,  were  not  then 
acquainted  with  the  chemistry  or  manufacture  of 
soap.  Even  yet,  this  necessity  of  person  and  house- 
hold is  called  after  the  Latin  or  Portuguese  name, 
sapon,  which  in  their  mouths,  at  least  in  the  Yedo 
dialect,  becomes  "shabon."  Well  might  the  Japa- 
nese of  to-day  raise  a  monument  to  Dr.  Hepburn, 
for  he  taught  the  meaning,  the  use  and  the  manu- 
facture of  soap,  which  now  is  not  only  in  general 
use,  but  has  even  become  an  article  of  export.     It  is 


THE    LAND    OF    SWORDS 

certain  that  that  part  of  Japan  and  that  section  of 
the  Japanese  nation  within  the  ken  of  foreigners 
needed  soap  as  much  as  they  needed  Christianity, 
while  the  physical  condition  of  the  people  at  large 
had  probably  reached  its  lowest  depths. 

"Four  menservants,"  wrote  the  Doctor,  "who 
provided  their  own  food,  agreed  to  serve  for  two 
dollars  a  month  apiece,  which  was  really  high  wages 
in  Japan  at  that  time.  I  paid  six  dollars  a  month 
rent  for  the  temple.  The  Japanese  used  neither 
bread  nor  butter,  milk  nor  meat.  We  had  brought 
some  crackers  with  us  and  these,  with  rice,  sweet 
potatoes,  fish  and  tea  furnished  us  with  very  good 
fare.  So  having  our  physical  wants  supplied  with 
a  home  and  food,  we  were  thankful  and  happy  and 
were  all  the  time  learning  to  talk,  first  by  signs  and 
gestures,  but  constantly  picking  up  words  from  our 
servants,  from  the  carpenters,  and  from  the  many 
curious  Japanese  who  came  to  see  the  strangers  who 
had  come  to  Uve  amongst  them. 

"Did  we  ever  get  homesick?  Not  very  badly. 
Everything  about  us  was  so  new  and  so  strange,  and 
so  interesting  and  we  were  so  much  occupied,  that 
we  had  not  much  time  to  grieve  over  those  we  had 
left  behind.  More  than  all,  we  had  the  presence  of 
our  heavenly  Father  and  the  joy  of  fellowship  with 
him,  and  were  of  good  courage  and  hopeful."  ^ 

The  family  altar  was  at  once  set  up  for  the  wor- 
ship of  God.  In  this  deHghtful  communion,  they 
were  joined  daily  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Brown,  and  often 

[79] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

by  Chaplain  Wood  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Powhatan,  Chris- 
tian officers  or  men  from  the  navy,  and  Christian 
merchants  of  Yokohama.  Thus  the  old  temple  was 
turned  into  a  house  of  God. 

The  menservants  in  a  country  where  men  did  all 
domestic  and  household  work,  had  to  be  taught  every- 
thing, mainly  by  example;  this  threw  a  heavy  bur- 
den on  Mrs.  Hepburn.  "But  they  were  quick  to 
learn,  very  respectful  and  polite,  going  to  the  door 
with  us  when  we  went  out,  and  meeting  us  with  the 
most  profound  bows  on  their  hands  and  knees  when 
we  returned  to  the  house.  This  ceremony,  however, 
we  found  to  be  irksome,  and  soon  abridged  it." 

The  Japanese  were  very  curious,  concerning  every- 
thing about  the  missionaries,  but  exceedingly  reticent 
about  their  own  affairs.  The  rulers  were  opposed 
to  foreigners'  knowing  their  language  or  learning 
anything  about  the  people  of  the  country.  All 
natives  near  them,  teachers  and  servants,  the  huck^- 
sters  who  sold  them  fish  and  vegetables,  the  guard 
at  the  gates,  were  spies,  and  so  were  the  native  officers 
who  made  frequent  visits.  With  their  restless  Tar- 
tar eyes,  they  let  nothing  belonging  to  the  strangers 
escape  their  notice.  Yet  by  and  by,  discovering  in 
time  what  fools  they  were  for  being  so  suspicious, 
they  became  by  degrees  less  burdensome  in  their 
attentions. 

Many  foreigners,  to  the  number  of  twelve  or  fif- 
teen, were  murdered  during  the  first  year,  and  the 
Enghsh  Legation  in  Yedo  was  attacked  and  seme  of 

[80] 


#* 


THE    LAND    OF    SWORDS 

the  guards  killed,  while  later  the  house  of  the  Amer- 
ican minister  was  burned  and  his  secretary  Heusken 
assassinated.  For  the  better  protection  of  the  mis- 
sionaries the  Japanese  Government  built  a  strong  and 
high  stockade  fence  around  the  temple  and  placed  a 
guard  of  four  soldiers  at  the  gate. 

This  was  the  era  of  feudalism,  when  servants  and 
commoners,  that  is,  merchants  and  shopkeepers, 
however  wealthy,  and  mechanics  and  farmers,  how- 
ever respectable,  prostrated  themselves  before  the 
men  of  privilege  and  office.  These  latter  wore  two 
swords,  dressed  in  silk,  paid  no  taxes,  and  were  usu- 
ally the  tyrants,  and  occasionally  the  benefactors  of 
the  people. 

These  samurai,  or  "servants  of  the  Mikado," 
were  —  in  the  main  —  the  descendants  of  the  war- 
riors who  had  anciently  subdued  the  aborigines  in 
the  name  of  their  chief,  the  Mikado,  who,  as  they 
taught,  had  come  down  from  heaven.  From  the 
eighth  century,  the  miUtary  had  been  separated  from 
the  agricultural  and  working  classes.  Ages  of  rou- 
tine had  hardened  the  Hnes  of  division  and  deep- 
ened the  gulf  between  them  and  the  people  at  large. 
The  samurai  included  within  their  ranks  every  grade 
of  culture  and  character,  from  the  consummate  gentle- 
man and  noble  patriot  to  the  lewd  bully  and  the 
vile  ruffian.  They  all  lived  on  government  pensions 
and  stipends  from  their  feudal  lords. 

Swords  in  old  Japan  were  everywhere  in  as  general 
and  disgusting  evidence  as  were  weapons  among  our 

[81] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

medieval  ancestors,  or  "guns"  upon  Western  cow- 
boys. As  novel  to  the  American  eye  as  is  the  ubiqui- 
tous uniformed  soldier  in  Europe  were  these  rehcs 
of  an  age  of  force. 

Those  samurai  who  were  charged  with  the  office 
of  government,  so  far  as  they  related  to  foreigners, 
received  the  special  name  of  "Yakunin,"  that  is, 
officials.  They  usually  wore  a  washbowl-shaped 
lacquer  hat,  on  which  was  the  gilt  crest  of  the  shogun 
in  Yedo. 

In  fact,  the  opening  of  the  ports  to  foreign  com- 
merce, which  brought  revenue  into  the  coffers  of  the 
Yedo  shogun,  was  a  cause  of  bitter  Jealousy,  as  the 
daimios  or  feudal  lords  saw  that  this  new  poKtical 
movement,  through  the  treaties,  was  likely  to  bene- 
fit their  overlord  and  the  centralized  government 
at  Yedo,  thus  increasing  the  power  of  their  tyran- 
nical master.  Yet  this  was  at  a  time  when  the 
whole  trend  of  opinion  and  accelerating  movement 
of  society  was  away  from  dualism  (Mikado  and  sho- 
gun) and  in  the  direction  of  national  unification  under 
the  Mikado,  or  Emperor.  In  a  word  Mikadoism  was 
the  ruling  idea  about  to  rend  to  destruction  the  old 
feudal  structures.  The  clansmen,  however,  could 
not  as  yet  foresee  that  a  business  era  and  the  new 
economics  spelled  only  the  abohtion  of  feudahsm. 
It  was  only  gradually,  that,  even  the  most  penetrating 
and  intellectual  of  the  foreigners  in  Japan  could  see 
just  what  was  going  on.  In  commercial  quarters, 
especially,  it  was  long  before  the  national  movement 

[821 


THE    LAND    OF    SWORDS 

was  discerned,  or  even  understood,  though  the  clash 
of  revolution  had  actually  come. 

It  was  hot  the  nakedness  of  the  land  that  at  first 
disturbed  Christian  people's  notions  of  propriety,  so 
much  as  the  nudity  of  common  humanity.  All 
nature  seemed  beautiful,  but,  in  spite  of  any  tendency 
to  liberality  of  opinion,  Reginald  Heber's  classic  line 
came  often  to  mind: 

"Where  every  prospect  pleases  and  only  man  is 
vile." 

In  addition  to  beggary,  foul  and  loathsome  disease 
that  made  the  image  of  God  repulsive  and  disgusting, 
was  open  and  public;  for  there  were  then  no  hospitals 
in  Japan.  Every  third  person  was  pockmarked, 
blindness  was  shockingly  common,  and  smallpox 
was  always  endemic  and  frequently  epidemic.  Sore 
heads  were  disgustingly  frequent,  while  consumption 
made  frightful  ravages.  A  deformed  child  was  never 
seen.  None  were  allowed  to  survive  their  birth. 
The  men  were,  in  hot  summer,  usually  attired  only 
in  a  loin  cloth.  Men  made  it  a  common  custom  to 
walk  from  the  bathhouse  to  their  home  carrying 
their  clothes  on  their  arms.  Village  women  took  their 
bath  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  as  being  less  likely 
to  attract  attention  there  than  anywhere  else.  These 
daily  sights  awoke  strange  and  not  altogether  pleasant 
feelings  in  the  minds  of  gentlemen,  and  especially  to 
ladies,  accustomed  both  to  clothing  and  the  usual 
upright  attitude  of  free  citizens  in  a  republic.  As 
for  the  natives,  whatever  was  natural,  seemed  right. 

[83  1 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

As  a  rule,  American  women,  on  their  first  view  of 
such  vast  areas  of  cuticle,  nearly  fell  into  nervous 
prostration,  while  the  male  Britishers  or  republicans 
actually  felt  like  using  boot  leather,  not  in  cruelty, 
but  in  assisting  to  elevate  these  groveling  specimens 
of  humanity  and  telling  them  to  stand  up,  like  men 
who  lived  under  the  Union  Jack,  or  the  Stars  and 
Stripes. 

The  Japanese  diet  is  undoubtedly  wholesome. 
Rice,  eggs,  chicken  and  fish,  then  easily  accessible, 
had  many  points  of  attraction,  but  the  cooking 
flavors  were  peculiar  and  many  sorts  of  food  or  native 
methods  of  preparation  had  to  be  viewed  askance  at 
first.  It  is  true  that  the  senses  of  both  tasting  and 
smelling  have  to  be  educated.  In  every  land  the 
liberal-minded  know  that  it  is  absurd  to  argue  as  to 
tastes,  but  much  also  can  be  said  about  the  functions 
of  that  most  prominent  organ  of  the  face  which,  to  the 
Japanese,  seemed  on  aliens  to  be  so  vast,  protrusive 
and  imposing.  The  natives  nearly  fainted  at  the 
odors  of  our  cheeses,  sauerkraut  and  divers  varieties 
of  condiments.  They  were  horrified  at  our  carving 
at  the  table  of  rare  roast  beef.  Not  a  few  of  the 
odors  in  our  houses  and  about  our  persons  were  and 
are  to  them  distinctly  disagreeable. 

Yet  missionaries,  as  a  rule,  are  liberal-minded  and 
level-headed  people,  who  seat  common  sense  on  a 
high  throne,  and  soon  learn  to  be  very  tolerant  and 
charitable  of  personal  and  national  peculiarities. 
This  is  ever  true,  notwithstanding  glaring  exceptions, 

[84] 


THE    LAND    OF    SWORDS 

even  among  veterans  and  usually  among  the  fresh, 
green  and  impetuous  newcomers,  who  have  a  splendid 
chance  to  do,  for  the  first  year  or  two,  more  harm 
than  good.  Yet  notwithstanding  all  that  might  be 
said  in  favor  of  native  diet,  even  settled  down  Ameri- 
cans usually  had  the  feeling,  after  a  Japanese  meal, 
that  they  had  not  been  nourished  and  somehow  had 
plenty  of  room  within.  Furthermore,  it  was  distinctly 
necessary  to  go  through  an  education,  and  even  pain- 
ful discipHne,  at  times,  for  those  deeply  orthodox  on 
the  subject  of  meat,  bread  and  potatoes,  to  accustom 
their  interior  arrangement  to  the  new  pabulum.  As 
mutton  is  virtually  unknown  in  Japan,  and  beef 
was  proscribed  by  Buddhism,  the  newcomers  often 
suffered  lack  of  the  food  that  stands  on  the  hoof. 

As  for  milk,  it  was  not  only  not  to  be  had,  except 
for  old  and  sick  people,  but  it  was  not  considered 
lawful  thus  to  rob  the  cow  or  her  offspring.  Even 
if  the  animal  mother  had  a  full  udder,  she  decidedly 
objected  to  any  human  intervention  for  the  obtaining 
of  the  lacteal  fluid.  When  foreigners  wanted  milk, 
it  required  not  only  the  presence  of  the  calf,  but  a 
good  deal  of  vigorous  manipulation  to  get  the  desired 
quart  or  two.  In  time,  however,  educated  cows,  of 
the  proper  breed,  were  introduced,  and  to-day,  milk 
and  cream  are  common  in  the  large  towns  and  cities, 
while  in  the  country  may  be  seen  herds  of  Jerseys, 
Alderneys,  Holstein-Frisians,  and  other  cows. 

The  Japanese  who  will  uproot  and  keep  out  the 
bamboo  scrub  undergrowth,  which  cuts  to  pieces  the 

185] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

stomachs  of  the  ruminating  animals,  sheep  and  cows, 
and  will  educate  his  countrymen  to  live  on  mutton 
and  beef  and  on  cheese  and  the  other  products  of  the 
cow,  will  achieve  for  his  people  a  benefit  far  surpass- 
ing those  of  the  warriors  whose  breasts  glitter  with 
decorations. 

Sweet  or  "Satsuma"  potatoes  were  common  and 
were  the  delicacies  of  the  vulgar,  their  use  being 
tabooed  as  a  rule  by  the  highest  classes.  But  white, 
or  "Java"  potatoes  were  like  angels'  visits  in  the 
settlements,  "short  and  far  between."  For  many 
months,  Mrs.  Hepburn  had  to  depend  upon  ship's 
rations  and  get  her  meat,  bread  and  potatoes,  from 
the  floating  larders. 
^  A  missionary's  daughter  wrote  in  after  years  of 
her  memories  of  the  Hepbums'  home  in  Kanagawa : 

"If  the  friends,  the  pupils,  the  parishioners,  the 
patients  and  the  mere  admirers  of  Dr.  Hepburn  could 
each  bring  but  one  flower  as  a  symbol  of  their  regard 
for  him,  their  indebtedness  to  him  and  their  love  for 
him,  his  house  would  not  be  big  enough  to  hold  the 
fragrant  blossoms.  Do  you  accuse  me  of  prejudice? 
Then  look  through  my  spectacles. 

"Imagine,  at  the  close  of  our  American  Civil  War, 
in  newly  opened  Japan,  a  Buddhist  temple,  looking 
like  a  one-story  bungalow,  propped  on  stilts,  well  set 
back  from  the  street,  in  the  town  of  Kanagawa;  for 
Yokohama  was  then  a  mere  strip  of  fishing  smacks  in 
the  midst  of  a  marsh.  Kanagawa  was  a  port  of  the 
country  ruled,  as  report  said,  by  two  kings.     In  the 

[861 


THE    LAND    OF    SWORDS 

large  temple  yard  no  untidy  blade  of  grass,  which 
struggled  up,  was  permitted  to  remain.  That  is  not 
comme  il  faut  in  a  Japanese  temple  yard. 

"A  splendid  maidenhair  tree  stood  near  the  gate 
of  the  compound  and  the  sunbeams  sifted  through  the 
leaves  upon  the  stalwart  guardsmen  who  often  sat 
at  its  base.  A  guardhouse  was  at  the  gate,  and  no 
one  entered  the  inclosure  without  passing  a  rigid 
inspection.  The  foreigners  within  the  temple  never 
set  foot  outside  of  the  compound,  unless  accompanied 
by  a  guard,  which  the  Yedo  Government  had  sent  to 
protect  the  'foreign  devils'  from  any  harm  at  the 
hands  of  fanatical  natives.  According  to  common 
rumor  these  guards  also  made  most  excellent  spies. 
This  was  the  dwelling  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hepburn,  and 
into  their  temple  home,  they  received  as  bride  and 
groom  my  father  and  mother.  Later  on,  the  Doctor 
ushered  me  into  the  world,  and  from  this  early  ac- 
quaintance down  the  years,  with  smiles  and  tears,  is 
it  a  wonder  that  a  remembrance  of  the  soft  kiss  of  the 
Doctor's  Hps  and  the  sweet  tones  of  his  voice  touch 
the  strings  of  memory's  harp  to  tender  strains? 
When  I  was  a  child,  he  brought  me  a  locket  from 
China.  When  I  was  married  and  he  thought  I  needed 
a  scolding  (not  for  marrying),  he  traveled  to  Tokyo 
to  administer  it.  This  interest,  in  so  old  a  man  as 
he  had  then  become,  was  so  touching  that  I  agreed 
most  meekly  with  every  word  he  uttered,  though  I 
knew  I  had  not  deserved  it."  >s. 


87 


X 

KANAGAWA:     PIONEER   OF    SCIENCE   AND 
EDUCATION 


r 


r~|~lHE  first  element  of  success  in  life  is  to  know 
what  things  are  first.  The  primal  business  of 
a  missionary  is  to  study  efficiency  and  to  raise 
this  to  the  highest  point. 

In  one  of  the  issues  of  "  The  Korea  Mission  Field," 
in  1913,  a  famous  but  anonymous  veteran,  speaking 
from  experience,  under  the  heading,  "Were  I  a 
missionary,"  writes: 

"I  would  do  first  things  first.  I  would  soon  find 
out  that  the  first  of  first  things  is  language  study: 
that  the  Board  had  not  sent  me  as  the  mission's 
councilor  —  I  should  not  waste  energy  in  trying 
to  correct  all  that  I  thought  wrong  in  missionary 
methods;  that  the  greatest  asset  of  a  missionary's 
life  is  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  second  is  a 
mastery  of  the  language." 

What  this  wise  son  of  experience  says  of  the  mis- 
sionary might  well  apply  in  part  at  least  to  the  yatoi. 
Many  of  these  hired  servants  of  the  Japanese  Govern- 
ment, on  their  first  arrival  on  the  soil,  and  often  for 
months  after  that  august  event  —  so  great  in  their 

[88] 


SCIENCE    AND    EDUCATION 

eyes  —  were  as  fresh  as  green  persimmons.  Dr. 
Hepburn  was,  however,  on  his  arrival  in  Japan, 
already  a  seasoned  veteran,  forty-four  years  old. 
He  began  at  once  to  wrestle  with  the  language. 

As  soon  as  possible,  however,  this  army  crusader, 
armed  with  the  lancet,  attempted  to  begin  medical 
work.  He  rented  a  Buddhist  temple,  not  far  from 
his  dwelling,  fitted  it  up,  and  opened  it  for  the  benefit 
of  submerged  humanity.  Soon  it  was  thronged  with 
sick  people  of  every  kind,  often  from  six  to  eight  score 
a  day.  Thereupon  that  mysterious  entity,  called 
"the  government"  interfered,  drove  the  sick  people 
away,  shut  the  gate,  stationed  a  guard  before  it  and 
allowed  none  to  enter. 

"I  complained  to  Mr.  Harris,  the  United  States 
consul  and  minister,"  wrote  the  Doctor,  "but  could 
get  no  assistance  from  him,  being  told  that  the  treaty 
with  Japan  was  not  made  for  missionaries,  only  for 
merchants.  The  real  reason  for  the  close  of  my 
hospital  was,  I  think,  the  desire  to  drive  us,  as  well 
as  all  other  foreigners,  away  from  Kanagawa  to 
Yokohama,  where  we  would  be  more  under  govern- 
mental control  and  could  be  more  easily  guarded"  — 
from  native  assassins  and  incendiaries. 

The  Doctor  was  undoubtedly  right  in  his  surmise, 
as  events  showed.  However,  he  was  not  to  be 
bafiied  in  his  efforts  to  do  good,  while  thousands 
suffered  in  pain,  or  literally  rotted  through  neglect. 
Japan  was  then  at  her  lowest  in  physical  degeneration 
and  disease;    it  is  the  indictment  of  history  against 

[891 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

the  Yedo  regime  of  Tokugawas  (from  1604  to  1868) 
that  they  did  Httle  or  nothing  for  the  soil  or  the 
people.  Nothing  could  frighten  the  good  physician, 
whether  by  night  or  day,  from  ministering  to  the 
suffering.  Count  T.  Hayashi,  late  envoy  to  Great 
Britain,  wrote  me: 

"At  Kanagawa,  many  were  the  accidents  which 
happened  in  the  turbulent  times  of  anti-foreign 
agitation,  but  I  was  assured  by  the  people  of  Kana- 
gawa, whom  Dr.  Hepburn  befriended,  that  he  had 
never  flinched  from  visiting  his  patients,  or  those 
people  who  required  his  help.  In  places  that  were 
considered  among  the  most  dangerous,  whenever  and 
wherever  his  sense  of  duty  or  the  nature  of  his 
mission  called  upon  him  to  go,  he  went." 

One  of  these  "accidents"  resulted  in  the  death  of 
an  Englishman  and  the  subsequent  bombardment 
of  the  capital  of  Satsuma  by  a  British  squadron. 
The  foreigners  visiting  Japan,  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  the  weak  and  unresisting  Chinese,  found  a 
different  temper  among  the  islanders.  On  September 
14,  1862,  a  party  of  three  English  gentlemen  and  a 
lady  were  riding  on  the  Tokaido,  when  they  met  the 
train  of  horsemen  belonging  to  the  baron  of  Satsuma, 
who,  with  his  knights,  was  then  bitterly  angry  be- 
cause of  a  rebuff  received  in  Yedo.  While  spoiling 
for  a  fight,  an  altercation  ensued,  swords  flashed 
from  their  sheaths,  and  the  three  foreign  gentlemen 
were  wounded,  Mr.  Richardson  mortally.  The  lady, 
bespattered   with  blood,    escaped   and  brought   the 

[901 


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SCIENCE    AND    EDUCATION 

news.  The  story  has  been  told  a  thousand  times, 
but  it  is  here  recalled,  because  Dr.  Hepburn  was 
summoned  to  dress  the  wounds  of  the  unfortunate 
men.  The  Yedo  Government  was  powerless  to 
punish  Satsuma,  its  most  distant  and  hostile  feuda- 
tory, so  the  British  fleet  inflicted  punishment  next 
year  and  an  indemnity  was  paid.  That  taste  of  war 
was  as  good  medicine  and  Satsuma  became  the 
leader  in  Mikadoism  and  unified  Japan.  Dr.  Hep- 
bum  was  called  to  be  the  pioneer  of  education,  as 
well  as  of  modern  science  and  of  the  healing  art  in 
eastern  Japan.  As  early  as  1861,  nine  lads  of  rank 
were  sent  to  Kanagawa  for  six  months  or  so,  to  study 
English  under  him.     As  he  wrote  later: 

"In  1861-62,  the  Yedo  Government  sent  some  of 
their  best  young  men  for  me  to  instruct  in  Western 
knowledge  and  science,  through  the  English  language. 
My  relations  with  these  young  men  were  extremely 
pleasant.  Owing  to  the  intestine  troubles  and  im- 
pending fall  of  the  shogun's  government,  the  young 
men  were  recalled,  some  of  them  to  lose  their  lives  in 
the  civil  war  and  others  to  occupy  high  offices  of 
honor  and  trust  under  the  new  government." 

As  a  newcomer,  Dr.  Hepburn  was  obliged  to  attack 
the  language  single-handed,  for  no  phrase-books, 
grammars  or  dictionaries  existed.  Pantomime,  ges- 
ture, pointing  to  objects  to  obtain  their  names  and 
to  build  up  a  working  vocabulary,  were  the  first 
methods.  In  time,  a  future  tense  was  discovered. 
How  to  modify  assertions  was  a  problem.     To  find  an 

[91] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

equivalent  for  "but,"  "nevertheless,"  "notwith- 
standing" or  "however,"  and  for  other  dubitatives 
was  a  problem.  The  word  keredomo  was  fearfully 
overworked,  as  much  so  as  is  the  word  "already"  by 
a  Dutchman  talking  English.  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams, 
interpreter  for  Commodore  Perry,  was  remembered 
as  Keredomo  San  (Mr.  Keredomo,  or  Sir  Nevertheless), 

Personally,  the  biographer  never  understood  what 
the  Scripture  meant,  which  speaks  of  "leaping  over 
a  wall,"  until  he  tackled  the  Japanese  language.  Hav- 
ing had  some  trial  of  Latin  and  Greek,  French  and 
German  in  college  days,  and  of  Hebrew  and  Holland 
Dutch  later,  he  possessed  some  notions  of  the  growth 
and  construction  of  language  and  how  speech  was  used 
in  the  mouths  of  living  persons,  as  well  as  formulated 
in  books.  Here  in  Japan,  however,  was  a  tongue 
that  was  totally  different  in  its  genius  from  anything 
either  in  the  Aryan  or  Semitic  family  of  languages. 

It  is  true  that  the  Jesuit  missionaries  from  Portugal 
and  Spain  had,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  endeavored 
to  make  grammars  of  Japanese.  Their  procedure 
was  in  accordance  with  the  analogy  of  the  tongues  of 
southern  Europe.  Yet  before  a.d.  1600  even  the 
modern  Romance  languages  had  not  been  well  mas- 
tered by  grammarians.  Having  only  the  Latin 
apparatus  of  thought,  these  Jesuit  scholars  had  laid 
the  speech  of  Nippon  upon  the  Procrustean  bed  of 
the  classics  and  had  attempted  thus  to  explain  its 
peculiarities  by  the  Latin  case  and  verb  systems. 
Li  the  wa,  ni,  wo,  te,  and  other  terminations,  there 

[92] 


SCIENCE    AND    EDUCATION 

did  seem  to  be  some  superficial  analogy,  but  to 
students  in  the  nineteenth  century  —  the  great 
century  of  linguistic  penetration  and  achievement  — 
such  a  method  was  soon  seen  to  be  worse  than  useless. 

The  lack  of  teachers  was  all  the  more  serious  hin- 
drance because  natives  were  without  the  modern  crit- 
ical mind.  Moreover,  knowing  their  own  language 
only  as  a  child  knows  breath  and  a  fish  feels  water, 
the  first  native  instructors  available  were  little  better 
than  pump  stocks,  from  which  information  was  ex- 
tracted only  after  severe  labor.  Dr.  Hepburn  was 
very  much  like  the  prince  before  Thomrose  Castle. 
He  went  at  the  language  with  next  to  nothing,  but 
soon  had  leaped  over  the  wall  and  was  in  the  strange 
world  of  Japanese  thought  and  roaming  in  the  garden 
of  Japanese  literature. 

Having  already  had  a  grounding  in  Chinese,  he 
was  able,  after  acquiring  momentum,  to  make  rapid 
headway  in  what,  from  the  native  scholar's  point  of 
view,  was  the  best  literature  of  Japan.  The  first 
thing  to  know  wisely  was  history,  for  this  stands  first 
in  importance  of  the  categories,  over  twenty  in  num- 
ber, of  the  national  literature.  At  that  time,  the 
Nihon  Guai  Shi,  or  the  official  (and  therefore  more 
critical  and  vastly  more  valuable)  history  of  Japan, 
by  Rai  Sanyo,  completed  in  1822,  was  in  every 
scholar's  hands.  It  had  already  become  the  chief 
factor  in  forming  the  political  opinions  of  most 
Japanese  gentlemen  of  alert  mind.  This  book,  more 
than  any  other,  helped  to  create  the  public  sentiment 

[931 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

which  ushered  in  the  new  pohtical  world  of  ic 
when  dual  government,  and  later  feudalism  were 
abolished  and  all  power  centralized  in  the  Mikado. 
This  remarkable  work  is  written  in  excellent  Chinese, 
which  is  the  Latin  of  the  educated  native  of  Japan, 
and  in  its  composition  the  author  spent  over  twenty 
years  of  unintermitted  activity. 

Dr.  Hepburn  also  read  much  in  the  classic  his- 
tories of  Japan,  composed  in  Chinese,  and  those  in 
the  mixed  script  of  ideographs  and  the  native  sylla- 
bary. Yet,  living  in  a  commercial  seaport,  he  was, 
Hke  most  of  those  around  him,  slow  to  realize  the 
force  and  depth  of  the  currents  of  the  political  opinion 
(Mikadoism)  which  Rai  Sanyo  and  the  Mito  scholars 
had  started  and  which,  after  the  Harris  treaty,  rose 
to  a  flood.  Yet  he  knew  the  two  different  worlds  of 
mind  and  social  condition  in  Japan,  and  that  there 
was  a  nation  inside  of  a  nation,  that  is,  the  samurai 
and  the  commoners.  Vocabulary,  customs  and  dress, 
as  well  as  edicts  had  so  divided  them  that  a  great 
abyss  lay  between.  It  was  quite  possible  for  educated 
native  gentlemen  to  converse  together  for  hours,  in 
the  presence  of  their  servants  or  the  merchant  class, 
or  farmers,  without  being  understood  or  divulging 
secrets  which  they  wished  to  keep. 

There  were  many  cases,  sometimes  quite  ludicrous, 
when  even  at  the  dinner  table,  the  learned  Europeans 
in  the  legations,  accustomed  to  deal  with  the  higher 
classes  only,  were  unable  to  make  themselves  under- 
stood  to   the   waiters.     In   one   instance,    the  most 

[94  1 


SCIENCE    AND    EDUCATION 

famous  of  all  English  masters  of  written  Japanese 
was  at  an  official  dinner,  and  wished  to  have  powdered, 
instead  of  lump  sugar,  on  his  strawberries.  Using 
the  polite  term  to  the  servant,  instead  of  the  usual 
alert  obedience,  he  was  met  with  a  blank  stare, 
followed  by  a  puzzled  look.  However,  sitting  next 
to  the  savant  was  a  missionary  who  knew  the  common 
people's  talk,  and  making  use  of  the  vulgar  term 
sna  sato,  that  is,  "sand  sugar,"  he  secured  instant 
forthcoming  of  the  sweet  substance.  / 

I  was  myself  mightily  amused  once,  when,  stand- 
ing with  Dr.  Hepburn  in  one  of  the  high  rooms  of 
a  tower,  or  "arrow  arsenal,"  overlooking  the  ram- 
parts and  moats  of  the  castle  of  Tokyo,  I  found  I 
could  help  out  the  lexicographer.  Personally,  I  was 
reminded  in  doing  so  of  Landseer's  picture  of  "Dig- 
nity and  Impudence."  He  had  tried  several  times 
to  get  from  a  group  of  soldiers,  standing  nearby,  an 
explanation  of  something  down  below,  which  he 
wished  to  know  about.  These  sons  of  Mars,  being 
from  an  interior  province,  imagining  that  the  foreigner 
was  talking  in  an  ahen  tongue,  were  polite  but  reti- 
cent. So  turning  to  me,  the  Doctor  asked  for  help 
in  idioms  of  the  vernacular.  With  the  feeling  of  a 
baby  playing  with  a  giant,  I  put  the  question  to  the 
soldiers  in  a  dialect  most  familiar  to  me  and  to  them, 
and  received  so  prompt  an  explanation  that  both  the 
Tokyo  and  the  Yokohama  io~jin  had  a  good  laugh 
together. 

Summing  up,  the  Doctor  wrote  in  later  life: 
[95] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

"The  Japanese  written  language  is  expressed  in 
forty-seven  syllables,  each  sign  being  composed  of  a 
consonant  and  a  vowel,  with  only  one  final  n,  used  in 
writing  Chinese  words,  or  to  express  the  future  tense. 
The  method  of  transliterating  foreign  words  is  a 
very  tiresome  as  well  as  inadequate  one.  Japanese 
words  are  not  modified  by  gender,  number  or  case, 
and  have  no  capital  letters.  There  is  no  careful 
system  of  pmictuation,  nor  any  relative  pronoun, 
but  there  is  a  variety  of  personal  pronouns  to  suit 
the  rank  or  social  condition  of  the  person  addressed. 

''Other  difficulties  come  from  the  absence  in  the 
language  of  terms  to  express  the  moral  and  immoral, 
the  various  precious  stones,  and  the  distinctive 
fauna  and  flora  of  Palestine.  In  these  cases  we 
found  the  Chinese  written  language  a  mine  of  wealth." 

Compare  this  with  the  gross  flattery  of  tuft  hunters 
with  the  Japanese,  who  would  make  out  the  speech 
of  Nippon  to  be  the  very  quintessence  of  things 
ideally  linguistic,  ethical  and  deflghtful. 

First  impressions  seem  to  have  been  the  last  also. 
In  1895,  I^i*-  Hepburn  wrote  out  for  me  an  auto- 
biographical sketch.    He  said: 

"The  Japanese,  like  all  other  nations,  have  their 
peculiar  characteristics  and  a  national  type.  They 
differ  from  the  Chinese  and  other  Asiatic  peoples 
even  more  than  the  nations  of  Europe  differ  from 
each  other.  .  .  .  They  are  smaller  in  stature  than 
the  Chinese,  quick  to  imitate  and  borrow  from  other 
nations,  but  often  improving  upon  the  thing  borrowed 

[96] 


SCIENCE    AND    EDUCATION 

and  they  are  ready  to  adopt  whatever  they  find 
useful  to  themselves.  They  are  fickle,  volatile, 
emotional,  fond  of  pleasure,  inquisitive,  ambitious, 
naturally  courteous  and  civil,  intensely  patriotic, 
brave  and  revengeful,  desirous  of  standing  well  in 
the  opinion  of  foreign  nations.  In  morals,  they  are 
like  all  pagan  peoples,  untruthful,  licentious  and 
unreliable." 

It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  Doctor,  lover  of  truth 
as  he  was,  had  come  in  contact  with  thousands  and 
tens  of  thousands  of  the  lower  classes  and  with  but 
hundreds  of  the  samurai. 

The  Japanese,  any  more  than  other  sinful  mortals, 
may  not  enjoy  it  thus  to  have  their  best  friend  hold 
up  the  mirror  to  nature,  but  then  the  remedy  is  at 
hand.  Conversion  to  hohness,  and  not  mere  reforma- 
tion, is  what  they  and  we  need.'  So  long  as  Japanese 
have  no  belief  in  moral  accountability  to  God,  here 
and  hereafter,  so  long  will  they  be  pagans,  despite  all 
their  outward  polish.  No  jeweled  decorations  on  the 
breast,  or  eminence  or  fame  as  soldiers,  sailors  or 
inventors  can  change  this  fundamental  fact. 

Furthermore,  the  Doctor  was,  in  his  theology  — 
that  is,  in  his  philosophy  of  the  facts  of  God  and 
man  —  a  Calvinist.  Now  Calvinism  knows  nothing 
about  kings,  emperors,  Sons  of  Heaven,  popes,  cardi- 
nals, generals,  beggars,  the  poor  or  the  rich,  the 
learned  or  the  ignorant;  but  only  sinners  in  need  of 
salvation.  No  other  form  of  faith  could  give  him 
such  constant  assurance  of  the  love  of  the  heavenly 

[971 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

Father,  and  the  certainty  that  all  things  work  to- 
gether for  good  to  them  that  love  him. 

Calvinism  is  like  a  stained-glass  window.  To  those 
outside,  who  can  see  only  its  unillumined  and  unin- 
viting framework,  set  in  gray  and  forbidding  walls, 
it  is  dark  and  repulsive.  To  those  inside  —  enrap- 
tured with  the  splendors  of  the  Creator's  universe  — 
it  brings  all  heaven  before  one's  eyes  and  dissolves 
the  soul  in  ecstasies.  Not  even  Milton,  in  his  seraphic 
verse,  could  transcend  the  facts  in  the  joy  of  this 
Christ-filled  man,  whose  inner  life  was  a  Hallelujah. 


98 


XI 

AT    YOKOHAMA.    A    MASTER    OF    SYSTEM 

THE  Hepbums  lived  at  Kanagawa  for  four  years, 
from  1859  to  1863.  Then  they  moved  to  Yoko- 
hama. From  the  first,  the  foreign  merchants 
found  Yokohama  across  the  bay  so  much  freer  from 
molestation  and  so  much  better  fitted  for  trade  and 
residence,  that  in  spite  of  all  official  protests  and  to 
the  great  disappointment  of  Mr.  Harris,  they  made 
that  the  center  of  active  operations,  while  Kanagawa 
sank  into  the  reputation  of  a  mere  suburb.  Dr. 
Hepburn,  who  had  assisted  to  survey  and  lay  out  the 
settlement  at  Yokohama,  purchased  a  lot  near  "the 
creek,"  not  far  from  a  bridge  which  crossed  the  water 
dividing  the  old  village  from  Homura.  On  this  lot, 
facing  what  was  to  be  Main  Street,  he  built  a  house, 
one  story  high,  with  an  attic.  A  house  like  this  was 
desirable,  for  Japan  is  a  country  of  earthquakes. 

My  own  first  experience  of  these  ague  fits  of  Mother 
Earth  was  in  Dr.  Hepburn's  house.  Early  in  1871, 
I  was  sitting  at  his  hospitable  board,  along  with  Mrs. 
Hepburn  and  Rev.  Young  J.  Allen  of  China,  then  in 
the  prime  of  his  strength  and  power.  Like  myself, 
he  was  utterly  unused  to  such  strange  behavior  of 

[99] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

the  earth,  I  had  just  recovered  from  the  shock  of 
being  bossed  by  the  Doctor's  Japanese  servant,  who 
imagined  that  I  had  not  been  properly  brought  up, 
because  I  took  from  the  castor  held  in  his  hand,  a 
drop  or  two  of  vinegar  for  my  soup,  instead  of  some- 
thing else  he  thought  I  ought  to  take.  Having  the 
Hepburns  as  his  supreme  model,  and  being  only  a 
creature  of  tradition  and  routine,  he  seemed  to  think 
my  behavior  shocking  in  the  extreme.  We  had  got 
past  the  fish  and  were  attacking  the  curried  chicken 
and  rice,  when,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  the  whole  upper 
works  of  the  house  had  broken  loose  —  somewhere 
above  my  head.  In  a  second  more,  I  imagined  that 
a  cart  loaded  with  bricks  and  drawn  by  a  team  of 
four  horses  hitched  to  it,  was  running  away,  and 
racing  over  the  upper  floors.  I  looked  out  the 
window,  only  to  see  the  trees  shaken  in  a  way  that 
reminded  me  of  a  terrier  doing  business  with  a  rat. 
Yet  there  was  not  a  breath  of  air  stirring.  The 
pictures  on  the  wall  began  to  sway  outward  and 
then  bang  against  the  wall  paper,  and  the  doors  to 
open  and  shut,  in  the  most  uncanny  way,  while  the 
windows  rattled,  as  if  ghostly  personages  were  enter- 
ing or  departing.  Mr.  Allen  jumped  up  to  see  what 
was  going  on  above,  or  beneath,  but  one  quiet  word 
from  the  Doctor,  "Earthquake,"  assured  me  that 
all  was  right.  If  he  could  sit  still,  when  the  old, 
settled-down  Mother  Earth  was  thus  misbehaving, 
I  could  also,  and  I  did. 

Nevertheless,  for  some  time  afterwards,  when  in 

fiool 


l^  it 


A    MASTER    OF    SYSTEM 

Tokyo,  I  labored  under  the  not  altogether  groundless 
fear  that  I  should  wake  up  some  night  and  find  the 
chimney  in  bed  with  me.  The  Doctor  was  so  far  in 
harmony  with  his  environment  as  to  have  no  plaster 
on  the  walls,  and  when  I  looked  for  a  smoke  exit,  I 
found  only  an  ugly  stovepipe  projecting  under  the 
gable. 

In  this  modest  house,  the  Hepburns  lived  for  many 
years,  and  here,  many  a  time  afterwards,  I  came,  * 
seeing  the  Doctor  in  his  study  room  surrounded  by 
books  and  manuscripts  and  with  his  ever-faithful 
translators  and  assistants.  I  met,  at  one  time,  Mr. 
Tahahashi  Goro,  the  scholar  who  has  translated  also 
a  large  part  of  the  Roman  Catholic  version  of  the 
Scriptures;  and  at  another,  Okuno,  afterwards  the 
church  elder,  poet  and  scholar;  and,  in  one  case,  a 
young  man  destined  to  be  the  ambassador  of  Japan  to 
the  Court  of  St.  James,  Mr.,  now  Count,  T.  Hayashi. 

The  Japanese,  that  is,  the  Yedo  Government,  were  '^ 
very  suspicious  of  the  missionaries  at  first,  often 
sending  spies  to  see  what  they  were  doing  and  what 
they  had  in  their  houses.  Altruism  might  be  con- 
ceivable to  an  islander,  but  how  it  could  ever  possibly 
exist  in  the  breasts  of  men  seven  thousand  miles 
away,  who  could  spend  their  money  and  have  sufficient 
interest  in  distant  humanity  to  send  out  healers  and 
helpers,  was  at  that  time  unthinkable  to  the  average 
Japanese.  Under  all  designs  and  pretexts,  was  sup- 
posed to  be  a  desire  to  conquer  Japan  and  use  her 
people  only  for  selfish  purposes.     For  many  years 

fion 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

this  was  the  attitude  of  almost  all  Japanese,  though 
later  they  all  made  glad  confessions  of  their  blindness 
and  former  inability  to  understand  that  benevolence 
might  exist  in  an  American  heart. 

By  the  year  187 1,  much  light  haa  dawned.  When 
the  ambassadors  representing  the  Emperor  came  to 
New  York,  they  inquired  whether  certain  elderly 
ladies  were  living,  who  in  1866,  at  New  Brunswick, 
New  Jersey,  had  shown  kindness  (including  financial 
assistance,  temporarily)  to  the  first  two  Japanese  lads 
who  had  come  to  study  in  America.  The  eminent 
men  took  occasion  to  confess  gladly  that  these  and 
other  proofs  of  the  kindly  feeling  of  Americans  toward 
Japanese  and  the  courteous  treatment  of  their  young 
countrymen  had  done  more  —  to  use  the  words  of 
Iwakura  and  Okubo,  ''to  cement  the  friendly  relations 
of  the  two  countries  than  all  other  influences  com- 
bined." 

Because  the  missionaries  were  regarded  as  strange 
folk  and  at  first  utterly  unclassifiable,  the  educated 
natives  feared  to  render  any  scholarly  assistance  to 
these  strange  men  who,  though  in  Japan  far  away 
from  home,  did  not  buy  or  sell.  It  was  five  months 
before  Dr.  Hepburn  in  Kanagawa  was  able  to  get  a 
teacher,  and  afterwards  he  had  reason  to  think  that 
this  person  was  a  government  spy.  Moreover, 
despite  the  appalling  needs  of  the  poor  and  diseased, 
the  Yedo  Government  at  first  hindered  and  then 
stopped  the  Doctor's  benevolent  work  entirely,  by 
forbidding  the  sick  to  come  to  the  dispensary. 
[102] 


A    MASTER    OF    SYSTEM 

Thus,  shut  off  from  one  field  of  labor,  he  gave  himself 
up  wholly  to  the  study  of  the  language  and  later  to 
compiling  his  great  dictionary. 

On  moving  to  Yokohama,  however,  he  reopened 
his  dispensary  and  was  at  work  in  it  every  week  day, 
until  1879,  ministering  to  the  diseased.  Finally  it 
was  closed  on  account  of  ill  health.  He  prescribed 
for  from  sLx  to  ten  thousand  patients  yearly,  and  had 
about  him  a  corps  of  five  to  ten  young  men  anxious 
to  learn  the  healing  art.  He  maintained  also  a  medi- 
cal class  of  young  men  whom  he  instructed  three  days 
a  week,  besides  teaching  a  Bible  class  on  Sunday. 
During  the  last  five  years  of  his  ministrations  in  the 
dispensary,  before  commencing  medical  work,  he  gave 
the  patients  assembled  every  day  a  talk  upon  some 
Christian  truth.  He  purposely  abstained  from  treat- 
ing foreign  patients,  lest  he  might  be  thought  to  be 
earning  private  revenue;  but  at  times  there  was  no 
other  foreign  physician,  and  he  was  obliged  to  listen 
to  the  calls  of  humanity;  this  he  did  gladly.  During 
one  year  there  was  no  clergyman  in  Yokohama,  ex- 
cept the  English  chaplain,  so  that  for  those  who  did 
not  attend  the  English  Church,  he  had  to  conduct 
worship  on  Sunday. 

In  those  days  native  foreigner-haters  abounded 
and  the  ro-nin  was  in  the  land.  Because  of  his 
activity.  Dr.  Hepburn's  toils  were  increased.  The 
ro-nin,  or  wave-man,  was  a  gentleman,  so  called,  of 
the  samurai  class,  and  therefore  allowed  to  wear  two 
swords;  but  he  was  not  in  the  service  of  any  one  of 
[103] 


v: 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

the  feudal  lords,  as  was  almost  every  one  of  the 
samurai,  having  detached  himself  therefrom,  or  having 
been  discharged  through  fault.  Being  a  free  lance,  he 
was  apt  to  become  a  terror  to  the  community.  Some 
of  the  ro-nin,  indeed,  were  men  of  the  highest  char- 
acter, who  had  given  up  salary  and  support  as  feudal 
retainers,  in  order  to  devote  themselves  to  scholar- 
ship, or  some  other  form  of  honorable  toil,  to  altruistic 
labors,  or  to  accompHsh  purposes  not  easily  secured 
when  bound  to  a  master.  For  the  most  part,  however, 
the  ro-nin  were  either  violent  and  fanatical  patriots, 
common  drunkards,  or  unmitigated  scoundrels,  of 
whom  the  world  was  too  worthy. 

Ordinarily  among  gentlemen,  swords  did  not  easily 
leave  their  scabbards,  for  the  rules  governing  the 
privilege  of  wearing  them  were  very  rigid,  but  among 
the  lower  grades  of  samurai,  frequenters  of  brothels 
and  wine  shops,  the  sword  came  out  only  too  easily. 
Life  was  held  very  cheap  by  and  among  these  swash- 
bucklers, and  cheaper  yet  was  the  sake,  or  liquor 
brewed  and  sometimes  distilled  from  rice,  with  the 
fusel  oil  still  in  it.  The  low  price  of  this  brain- 
poisoner  had  attracted  the  attention  of  Commodore 
Perry,  who  in  a  long  life  spent  among  sailors,  knew 
its  degrading  effects  only  too  well. 

At  both  Kanagawa  and  Yokohama  the  govern- 
ment had  built  a  high  palisade  fence,  and  maintained 
a  strict  guard  at  the  gates.  All  suspicious  characters 
were  challenged  and  every  native  who  came  in  or  out 
of  the  foreign  settlement  must  be  known.  In  spite 
11041 


A    MASTER    OF    SYSTEM 

of  this,  however,  not  a  few  Russians,  Dutchmen, 
Englishmen  and  others  were  murdered.  Nearly 
every  treaty  nation  contributed  victims  to  the 
murderous  ro-nin.  It  was  not  uncommon  to  find 
limbs,  or  hands,  sheared  off  by  the  assassin's  sword 
lying  on  the  roads.  The  foreign  cemetery  at  Yoko- 
hama tells  to  the  old-timer  some  wonderful  stories. 
Almost  all  foreigners,  when  on  the  highways  or 
ramblmg  within  the  seven  league  radius  allowed 
them  by  treaty,  went  armed.  Outside  the  settle- 
ment they  were  usually  accompanied  by  guards  for 
protection. 

i  Soon  after  his  arrival,  the  Doctor  had  found  strange 
men  near  his  house,  who  afterwards  confessed  that 
they  had  come  to  assassinate  him,  or  to  kill  any  other 
foreigner  who  seemed  to  offer  easy  prey.  Another 
fellow  actually  took  employment  for  the  express 
purpose  of  murdering  him,  but  after  a  few  weeks, 
finding  out  what  kind  of  people  the  missionaries  were, 
and  beholding  himself  as  an  arrant  fool,  he  abandoned 
his  plan.  It  was  indeed  enough  to  disarm  the  prej- 
udices even  of  a  demon  to  see  this  American  at  work 
every  morning  in  his  dispensary . 

The  Japan  of  our  day  is  a  land  that  leads  the  world 
in  military  and  public  hygiene  and  in  successful 
surgery,  while  all  the  records  of  war,  in  saving  the 
lives  of  the  wounded,  have  been  broken  by  a  nation 
that  knows  to  perfection  the  fine  art  of  profiting  by 
the  experience  and  abilities  of  other  peoples,  but  is 
largely  so  because  of  Dr.  Hepburn  and  men  like  him. 
f  105  1 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

Japanese  freshmen,  who  now  sneer  at  the  mission- 
aries and  boast  of  their  country's  progress,  wonder, 
perhaps,  whether  those  of  us  who  tell  of  things  that 
we  saw  with  our  own  eyes,  are  not  "blowing  a  big 
conch,"  are  jaundiced  by  race  prejudice,  or  are  dealing 
with  fiction.  Indeed,  it  is  nearly  impossible  for  a 
native  born  in  more  recent  years  to  realize  the 
wretchedness  of  the  million  or  more  of  the  diseased, 
the  outcast,  or  the  beggars  of  the  Japan  of  1870. 

I  saw  thousands  of  these  mutilated,  blind,  scabby 
and  foul  creatures,  who  swarmed  upon  the  public 
roads,  begging  piteously  for  food  or  for  help,  and 
bear  witness  to  their  degraded  existence  on  the  high- 
roads of  the  empire,  both  in  the  far  interior  and  in 
the  Doctor's  dispensary.  In  a  room  able  to  hold 
about  a  hundred  persons,  there  were  gathered  daily 
from  twenty  to  seventy-five  persons,  of  all  ages  and 
sexes,  most  of  them  foul  and  repulsive.  Without 
fuss  or  visible  emotion,  though  with  real  sympathy 
and  profound  pity,  the  missionary  physician  did  his 
work  of  rehef.  Near  or  around  him  were  from  five 
to  ten  native  youth,  most  of  whom  have  since  made 
their  record,  as  men  with  the  letters  M.D.  after  their 
names.  These  were  preparing  medicine,  bandages, 
or  dressings,  assisting  in  surgery,  or  in  preparation  of 
the  patients.  They  helped  the  Doctor,  in  one  way 
or  another,  while  themselves  learning.  In  the  com- 
pany, waiting  their  turn,  were  human  beings  of  every 
condition  who  showed  the  marks  of  sin,  ignorance, 
misery,  accident,  or  infection. 
[1061 


A    MASTER    OF    SYSTEM 

Here  was  an  old  man  hoping  for  relief  from  some 
chronic  disease,  and  perhaps  only  too  ready  to  show 
the  Hmb  or  organ  that  needed  the  attention  of  science 
or  skill.  Here  were  mothers,  holding  up  their  sick 
babies  to  the  Doctor,  pleading  for  one  ray  of  hope. 
The  eyes,  it  might  be,  of  the  little  ones  were  eaten 
out  with  smallpox,  or  even  a  worse  disease,  while 
the  maternal  eyes  were  "homes  of  silent  prayer." 
I  can  never  forget  those  piercing  looks  into  the 
Doctor's  face.  Frequently  their  piteous  glances  or 
importunate  petitions  were  of  no  avail.  Disease 
had  gone  too  far,  and  often  death  was  prompt  and 
merciful.  Happy  indeed  was  the  Doctor  himself, 
when,  by  a  pinch  of  powder,  a  bolus,  a  lotion,  a  salve, 
a  dressing,  or  a  surgical  operation,  he  could  bring  joy 
and  hope.  Many  of  his  most  successful  operations 
had  been  previously  unknown  in  Japan. 

One  need  not  go  into  too  much  detail  concerning^ 
what  was  at  first  a  chamber  of  horrors,  in  which  every 
sense,  was  offended,  but  which  became  for  the  majority 
a  place  of  delight.  Around  the  walls  were  comforting 
passages  from  the  Book  of  books,  rich  promises,  words 
of  hope  and  tender  consolation,  messages  from  the 
Great  Physician. 

With  the  help  of  interpreters,  even  in  earlier  years, 
the  waiting  time  and  fruitful  opportunity  made  this 
room  often  the  very  gate  of  heaven  to  souls,  whose 
ransom  from  the  power  of  guilt,  suffering  and  dark- 
ness began  here.  Yes,  that  dispensary  was  a  Bethel 
to  many  of  the  Japanese.  Dr.  Hepburn's  problems 
[1071 


V 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

were  not  geographical,  ethnic,  or  philosophical,  but 
immediate  and  human. 

Intensely  human  himself,  out  of  his  heart  flowed 
streams  of  sympathy,  help  and  healing.  To  both 
natives  and  alien  dwellers  upon  the  soil,  he  and  his 
wife  made  their  home  one  of  abounding  hospitality. 
All  who  came  under  his  roof  —  whether  they  were 
lovers  beginning  their  life  voyage,  or  lovers  long 
mated  during  years  of  mutual  burden  bearing,  in- 
quirers or  visitors,  scholars  or  common  people,  chil- 
dren or  the  aged,  friends  of  missions,  or  their  critics 
and  enemies  —  felt  the  power  of  sympathy,  some- 
times given  merely  by  look  or  word,  sometimes  by 
the  application  of  science  and  skill.  Benevolence  had 
no  enemies. 

Whether  for  individuals  or  the  nations,  Hepburn's 
work  in  quality  was  that  of  a  master.  In  quantity, 
when  one  remembers  that  frail  body,  it  seems  astound- 
ing. It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  for  the  Japa- 
nese born  since  1870,  he,  under  God,  made  theirs  a 
different  world  to  live  in.  Physician,  lexicographer, 
translator  of  the  Bible,  friend  of  beggars  and  emperors, 
and  —  oh,  noble  task!  —  conciliator  of  missionary 
and  merchant,  he  was  always  referred  to  in  Japan  as 
"Kun-shi,"  the  righteous  and  noble  gentleman. 

In  one  respect,  his  work  and  personality  were 
unique.  As  a  rule,  missionaries  and  merchants  — 
the  trading  and  the  altruistic  class  —  do  not  lavish 
much  love  upon  each  other,  when  they  are  away 
from  home  and  in  the  presence  of  the  heathen.  The 
[108] 


A    MASTER    OF    SYSTEM 

men  of  the  mart  and  counter,  and  the  men  of  the 
Church  and  pulpit,  survey  humanity  from  such 
different  angles,  and  are  themselves  usually  such 
subjective  victims  of  their  own  professions,  notions, 
or  environment,  that  mutual  respect  is  difficult  to 
maintain.  The  general  attitude,  on  both  sides,  is 
one  of  armed  neutrality,  of  icy  indifference,  or  of 
amused  toleration. 

Happily  for  the  first  missionary  pioneers  in  Japan, 
who  were  men  of  broad  culture  and  knowledge  of  the 
world  East  and  West,  such  ahenation  of  view  was 
not,  in  the  sixties,  at  all  marked,  or  was  at  a  mini- 
mum; while  in  the  case  of  the  physician  and  the 
average  human  being,  there  was  really  very  little  of 
aloofness  on  either  side.  Then  it  was  Dr.  Hepburn's 
delight  to  cultivate  those  graces  which  bring  out  the 
best  side  of  human  nature.  Hence  from  the  first, 
he  won  the  regard  and  often  the  warm  friendship 
of  men  of  every  class  and  profession.  In  this  way,  he 
helped  powerfully  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  which 
is  not  of  this  world. 

When  compelled  by  the  government  to  go  to 
Yokohama,  the  Hepburns  were  not  only  in  danger 
from  the  ro-nin  assassins,  but  from  the  fanatical 
followers  of  the  Mikado.  On  one  occasion,  early  in 
May,  1862,  rumors  reached  them  that  Yokohama 
was  to  be  attacked  in  force  by  the  ro-nins.  Upon 
this,  their  servants  all  decamped.  Thus  left  alone, 
they  packed  their  clothes  and  portable  valuables  and 
stored  them  in  a  convenient  place  near  the  pier. 
[109] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

Then,  day  and  night  (they  dared  not  go  to  bed)  until 
May  31  they  awaited  the  signal  agreed  upon  for 
speedy  flight  to  take  refuge  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Wyoming, 
one  of  the  foreign  ships  lying  at  anchor  in  the  harbor. 
However,  the  order  to  attack  Yokohama  was 
countermanded,  for  the  valiant  foreigner-haters, 
despite  their  fanatical  courage,  concluded  that  dis- 
cretion was  the  better  part  of  valor.  So  the  fiery  but 
foolish  patriots,  after  finding  that  the  foreigner  had 
teeth  that  would  bite,  let  Yokohama  alone  and  many 
of  them  actually  began  cultivating  the  soil  and  their 
hands,  as  well  as  brains.  In  a  few  years,  a  million 
swords  became  vulgar  hardware  for  the  field  and 
kitchen  or  were  stored  as  curiosities  in  museums.  The 
Doctor  lived  to  see  Isaiah's  prophecy  measurably 
fulfilled  in  the  Land  Ruled  by  Slender  Swords. 


110 


XII 
"A   GOOD   WIFE   IS  OF  THE  LORD" 

WHATEVER  may  have  been  ''the  reveries 
of  a  bachelor"  in  his  younger  days,  the 
newly  fledged  physician,  J.  C.  Hepburn, 
M.D.,  besought  of  his  Father  in  heaven  the  gift  of  a 
good  wife.  He  was  thoroughly  orthodox  in  his  belief 
that  a  man's  best  fellow  and  helpmeet  is  of  the  Lord. 
Happily  and  fully,  his  prayer  was  answered.  He 
received  into  his  bosom  a  divine  measure  of  blessing 
pressed  down  and  running  over.  v 

In  all  the  manifold  variety  of  his  great  work  in 
many  lands,  he  was  mightily  helped  by  his  partner, 
whose  marital  love  and  service  lasted  over  sixty-five 
years.  It  is  very  difficult  for  the  biographer  to  put 
down  in  cold  blood  what  Mrs.  Hepburn  was  as  host, 
friend  and  presiding  spirit  in  the  parlor,  sitting  room, 
at  the  table  in  her  own  home,  and  in  the  social  life 
of  Yokohama,  during  the  sixties  and  seventies.  In 
those  days,  when  American  ladies  in  Eastern  lands 
were  few  and  far  between,  she  was  often  spoken  of 
on  our  warships,  in  grateful  merriment,  as  "the 
Mother  of  the  United  States  Navy."  Many  a  young 
ofiicer  was  saved  from  folly,  impurity  and  dissipa- 
[111] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

tion  by  her  kindly  warning  or  helpful  words.  In 
the  new  settlement,  she  was  Dorcas,  Martha  and 
Mary  in  one.  Not  a  few  homesick  and  heartbroken 
men  and  women  were  by  her  set  forward  in  life  with 
new  songs  in  their  hearts.  What  the  new  hghthouses 
on  the  headlands  of  modern  Japan  are  to  the  ships  at 
sea,  Mrs.  Hepburn  was  to  many  of  the  numerous  waifs, 
too  often  wrecks  of  humanity,  stranded  in  the  seaport. 
Most  of  the  Japanese  who  came  to  do  business 
with  the  foreigners  in  the  sixties  were  hardly  of  pre- 
possessing appearance,  or  winsome  character.  In- 
deed much  of  the  unjust  stigma  of  dishonesty  and 
the  suspicions,  both  just  and  unfounded,  that  linger 
among  us  concerning  the  Japanese  traders,  is  an 
inheritance  from  this  time,  when  the  merchant  of 
Nippon  had  no  social  standing,  and  trade  was  beneath 
the  contempt  of  the  native  gentleman,  and  when 
possibly  a  majority  of  the  native  shopkeepers  knew 
little  and  cared  less  for  the  high  ideals  of  commercial 
integrity,  which  thousands  of  Japanese  of  to-day 
share  with  the  best  men  of  Christendom.  Yet  the 
testimony  of  many  witnesses  shows  that  the  lives 
of  not  a  few  of  these  persons  were  remade  under  the 
influence  of  the  Hepburns,  who  loved  the  sinners 
while  hating  their  sin. 
^  Perhaps  the  greatest  tribute  that  can  be  paid  to 
^  Mrs.  Hepburn  is  that  she  was  the  pioneer  of  woman's 
education  in  Japan.  To  us  it  seems  perfectly  absurd 
that  the  Japanese  Government  in  dispensing  its 
honors,  posthumous  and  otherwise,  and  bestowing 
[112] 


A    GOOD    WIFE 

its  decorations,  has  so  consistently  ignored  the  part 
which  American  and  other  foreign  women  have 
played  in  the  intellectual  and  social  development  of 
the  nation,  as  well  as  through  its  own  womanhood. 
One  would  heartily  enjoy  listening,  with  the  under- 
standing, in  a  session  of  the  judges  who  award  the 
marks  of  imperial  favor,  to  the  advocates,  and  also 
to  the  advocaUis  diaboli.  He  might  thus  learn  what 
appraisal  is  put  upon  labors  that  re-create  nations  by 
the  processes  akin  to  leaven  and  sunbeams,  as  com- 
pared with  those  that  suggest  typhoons  and  tidal 
waves.  It  is  certain  that  Mrs.  Hepburn,  in  the  eyes 
of  the  undecorated,  was  the  beginner  of  woman's 
education  in  the  Mikado's  empire. 

In  1863,  at  the  earnest  request  of  a  Japanese 
physician,  who  wished  an  education  for  his  grand- 
daughter, Mrs.  Hepburn  began  a  school  for  girls. 
At  this  time  education  for  women  was  not  thought  of 
in  Japan.  "A  stupid  woman  is  less  troublesome  in 
the  family  than  one  that  is  wise"  is  a  sentiment 
attributed  to  Confucius.  Those  who  wrote,  or  re- 
vised, the  Imperial  Rescript,  in  187 1,  allowed  even 
the  Emperor  of  Japan  to  say,  "Japanese  women  are 
without  understanding."  Mrs.  Hepburn's  school 
was  "the  mustard  seed  of  woman's  education  in 
Japan."  As  was  said  by  an  eminent  Japanese  of 
character,  "the  first  recognition  by  the  government 
of  the  education  of  the  nation's  daughters  was  when 
a  pupil  of  Mrs.  Hepburn  was  appointed  to  assist 
Miss  M.  C.  Griffis  in  the  first  school  for  girls  in 
[113] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

Tokyo."  Within  twenty-five  years  from  the  be- 
ginning of  Mrs.  Hepburn's  class,  a  million  and  a  half 
of  girls  were  under  school  instruction.  ;In  the  words 
of  the  Emperor's  immortal  Rescript  on  Education, 
issued  in  1890,  the  goal  was:  "No  village  with  an 
ignorant  family  and  no  family  with  an  ignorant 
member." 

*  Though  Providence  had  denied  lengthened  life  to 
the  Hepburns'  children  —  all  boys  —  except  to  their 
son  Samuel,  there  were  not  wanting  babies  in  their 
home,  from  time  to  time.  Little  Japanese  waifs  for 
one  reason  or  another  were  housed  and  in  various 
ways  assisted  on  their  way  to  adult  life.  The  first  ac- 
quaintance made  by  the  Japanese  with  the  peculiar- 
ities of  steam,  the  new  child  born  of  fire  and  water, 
often  resulted  in  disaster.  On  a  little  steamer  plying 
between  Tokyo  and  Yokohama,  a  young  Presbyterian 
missionary  and  his  wife  lost  their  lives,  but  their 
babe  and  its  Japanese  ama,  or  nurse,  were  blown  into 
the  water,  and  were  saved.  Except  for  some  scalds, 
the  boy  was  unhurt.  Where  could  the  waif  go  but 
under  the  Doctor's  hospitable  roof?  Mrs.  Hepburn 
mothered  the  infant  until  sent  to  America.  After 
leaving  his  parents'  quiet  tomb  in  the  Yokohama 
cemetery,  the  boy  grew  to  stalwart  manhood. 

Mrs.  Hepburn  welcomed  under  her  roof  and  to  her 
table  a  great  many  visitors.  They  were  of  all  sorts, 
and  some  of  them  certainly  not  angels  entertained 
unawares.  The  cloven  hoof  and  barbed  tail  were 
better  emblems  of  certain  others.  We  old  residents 
[114  1 


A    GOOD    WIFE 

of  Japan,  in  Tokyo,  who  imitated  the  good  example 
of  hospitality  set  by  the  Hepburns,  mightily  enjoyed 
the  fun  which  these  freshmen  and  freshwomen  fur- 
nished us,  though  the  scribblers  who  stayed  forty- 
eight  hours  on  the  soil  and  then  wrote  magazine 
articles,  or  made  books  on  Japan,  supplied  even  more 
merriment. 

For  the  sting,  which  some  of  their  abominable 
effusions  must  leave,  ample  revenge  was  taken  by 
those  least  scrupulous  in  paying  tit  for  tat.  Of  all 
who  led  in  stufiing  the  goose  for  the  roasting,  our 
American  wit,  Mr.  E.  H.  House,  excelled.  He  loved 
nothing  better  than  to  take  these  guileless  and  im- 
pressionable souls  under  his  fatherly  wing,  lead  them 
around,  show  them  the  sites  and  sights,  both  real 
and  alleged,  meanwhile  filling  the  wallet  of  their 
imaginations — duly  transferred,  often  on  the  spot,  to 
notebooks  —  with  the  most .  astounding  revelations. 
Many  of  their  literary  productions  had  no  more  basis 
than  many  of  Lafcadio  Heam's  generalizations  that 
lead  people  to  think  of,  and  even  to  seek,  in  the  land 
itself,  a  Japan  that  never,  outside  of  dreams,  existed. 
Nobody,  more  than  House  himself,  enjoyed  chuckling 
over  his  literary  creations  when  they  came  out  in 
books,  or  figured  as  strictly  original  contributions  to 
comparative  law,  politics,  religion,  sociology  and 
tomfoolery. 

Mrs.  Hepburn's  experience  as  hostess  was  not  at 
all  unique,  as  many  of  us  can  testify.  Some  of  her 
friends,  on  a  birthday  anniversary,  had  presented  her 
[115  1 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

with  an  unusually  fine  turkey.  As  she  was  to  have 
an  American  newspaper  correspondent  at  a  dinner 
the  next  day,  she  had  it  cooked  in  honor  of  her 
guest  and  fellow  countryman.  This  worthy  knight 
of  the  fountain  pen  wrote  home,  to  his  syndicate,  to 
tell  how  extravagant  missionaries  were;  and,  to  spice 
his  fiction,  said  that  "the  most  luxurious  meal  he 
had  had  in  his  whole  tour  round  the  world  was  at  a 
missionary's  house  and  table."  Alas,  for  the  hotels 
at  which  the  globe-encompassers  must  stay! 

Baron  Takahashi,  now  in  1913,  Minister  of  Finance 
in  the  Cabinet  of  Premier  Yamamoto,  is  one  of  the 
chief  financiers  of  Japan.  While  negotiating  the 
Russo-Japanese  war  loan,  he  wrote  to  me  on  June  3, 
1905,  as  follows: 

"I  began  to  learn  the  alphabet  under  Mrs.  Hepburn 
in  1864-65.  Mr.  Momotaro  Sato  and  a  few  young 
students  of  the  clan  of  Kaga  were  with  me  in  her 
class  of  English." 

Then  he  went  on  to  tell  of  the  Doctor's  work  as 
oculist,  surgeon  and  general  practitioner,  and  how 
it  came  to  pass  that  he  (Takahashi)  did  not  become 
a  physician. 

"Dr.  Hepburn  had  some  medical  students  too.  I 
remember  Mr.  Sato  and  I  were  once  asked  by  one 
of  them  to  catch  a  cat  [one  of  the  native  bob-tailed 
variety]  for  the  purpose  of  dissection.  So  one  day 
we  killed  and  brought  in  the  animal  to  the  Doctor, 
and  the  next  morning  we  were  called  into  the  operat- 
ing room  to  look  on.  But  when  I  saw  the  procedure 
[1161 


A    GOOD    WIFE 

of  dissection  of  the  cat's  eye,  I  was  so  horrified  that 
I  turned  away  for  once  and  all  from  the  medical 
profession." 

Ambassador  Hayashi  wrote  from  London,  to  the 
writer,  on  January  29,  1903,  five  pages  of  his  own 
recollections  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hepburn.     He  said: 

"Whenever  the  'customhouse  officers,'  as  the  local 
Japanese  authorities  [in  Yokohama]  were  then  called, 
met  together  and  their  conversation  turned  on  topics 
coimected  with  foreign  residents  and  their  affairs, 
Dr.  Hepburn  was  invariably  alluded  to  as  'Kun-shi,' 
a  term  signifying  a  superior  man.  This  appellation, 
given  as  it  was  to  a  foreigner,  at  a  time  when  all 
foreigners  were  universally  regarded  as  aggressors, 
and  accordingly  were  more  or  less  hated  by  every 
class  of  people  in  Japan,  goes  far  to  prove  how  thor- 
oughly the  personality  of  Dr.  Hepburn  commanded 
the  respect  and  consideration  of  all  Japanese  who 
came  in  contact  with  him. 

"I  was  placed  under  the  care  of  Mrs.  Hepburn  from 
1862,  at  thirteen,  until  1866,  when  I  was  sent  to 
England  for  a  course  of  study  by  the  government  of 
the  Tokugawa. 

"Doctor  Hepburn  was  good,  kind  and  humanely 
just,  and  he  was  unceasingly  diligent,  frugal  and 
patient.  Many  of  his  patients  were  well-to-do,  for 
his  fame  had  gone  abroad  and  men  came  from  Yedo 
to  consult  him.  At  that  time  the  journey  required 
nearly  a  whole  day,  as  the  obstacles  presented  by 
ferries  and  guard  gates  on  the  road  were  so  great. 
[117] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

His  daily  dispensary  work  took  from  three  to  five 
hours,  according  as  his  twenty  or  seventy  patients 
needed.  His  whole  afternoon  was  devoted  to  literary 
work  in  his  study,  excepting  an  hour  or  so  before 
dinner,  for  his  walk  or  his  professional  or  private 
visits.  The  evening  was  spent  in  reading  or  con- 
versation in  the  drawing  room,  and  at  ten  o'clock 
the  family  retired. 

"  The  lower  class  of  Japanese  who  flocked  to  Yoko- 
hama to  find  employment  as  domestic  servants  with 
foreigners,  were  mostly  unscrupulous  men,  almost 
the  refuse  of  society,  but  the  uniform  kindness  of 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hepburn  made  them  in  many  cases 
quite  different  men.  One  instance  impressed  itself 
upon  my  young  mind.  Dr.  Hepburn  had  received 
from  abroad  for  his  dispensary  some  large  bottles 
of  alcohol.  The  servants  in  opening  the  box  found 
one  of  these  that  was  uncorked,  and  the  Doctor 
heard  them  remarking  to  each  other  that  the  Uquid 
smelled  very  much  like  'shochu'  [not  sake,  or  rice 
beer,  but  strong  liquor  —  distilled  spirits]  of  the  best 
quality.  Their  beaming  eyes  betrayed  what  was  in 
their  mind,  and  fearing  lest  they  might  be  tempted 
to  help  themselves  to  it  stealthily,  he  told  them  that 
these  spirits  were  very  much  stronger  than  'shochu,' 
and  that  they  were  only  to  be  used  for  medical  prepa- 
rations. On  no  account  were  they  to  be  drunk  as 
'shochu,'  for  they  were  powerful  enough  to  kill  a 
man,  if  so  taken. 

"  That  very  night,  the  servants,  four  in  all,  conspired 
[118] 


A    GOOD    WIFE 

to  steal  into  the  dispensary  and  they  treated  them- 
selves to  alcohol,  diluted  with  water,  to  an  extent 
seemingly  far  beyond  their  capacity;  for  they  all 
reached  such  a  state  of  inebriety  that,  losing  the 
power  of  motion,  they  lay  down  on  the  spot  quite 
unconscious  and  in  a  highly  feverish  condition.  One 
of  the  servants  was  married,  and  his  wife,  noticing 
the  long  absence  of  her  husband  into  the  late  hours 
of  the  night,  felt  anxious.  In  looking  for  him,  she 
traced  him  to  the  dispensary.  There  fuiding  him 
dying,  as  she  supposed,  she  gave  the  alarm  which 
brought  the  Doctor  immediately  to  the  rescue. 
Ordering  the  servants  to  be  carried  to  their  quarters, 
he  gave  directions  to  the  woman  to  nurse  them, 
attending  them  himself  at  frequent  intervals. 

"When  they  had  quite  recovered,  the  Doctor 
remonstrated  with  them,  kindly  but  firmly,  showing 
them  that  their  actions  constituted  a  theft,  which  in 
itself  was  very  wicked.  Apart  from  that,  he  had 
not  warned  them  against  drinking  the  liquid  out  of 
any  niggardliness  of  disposition,  but  purely  from  the 
fear  that  they  might  be  tempted  to  make  themselves 
ill.  The  suffering  and  shame,  therefore,  which  they 
had  brought  upon  themselves  was  a  just  punishment. 
Thus  he  made  their  own  consciences  convict  them. 
When  the  servants  told  me  of  this  incident  next  day, 
they  had  tears  in  their  eyes,  and  their  love  and  re- 
gard for  their  master  became  redoubled.  Henceforth, 
whatever  they  did,  the  welfare  and  interest  of  their 
master  was  almost  always  foremost  in  their  minds. 
[119] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

I  was  very  much  impressed  in  observing  what  a  force 
is  exerted  by  kindness  and  sincerity  over  the  hearts 
of  these  men,  uneducated  and  unscrupulous  though 
they  were." 

After  four  or  five  years  with  the  Hepburns,  Hayashi 
went  to  be  a  soldier  for  the  Yedo  shogun,  his  master. 
In  the  civil  war,  he  was  made  prisoner  and  kept  in 
the  prison  at  Demma  Cho,  in  Tokyo.  As  soon  as 
Mrs.  Hepburn  heard  of  this,  she  came  up  from  Yoko- 
hama and  called  on  Hayashi's  mother,  expressing  her 
sincere  sympathy  and  thus  truly  comforted  the  old 
lady.  "Though  it  was  for  but  a  short  period,  for  a 
few  years,"  said  Mrs.  Hepburn,  "that  I  lived  in  the 
same  house  with  your  beloved  son,  yet  I  cannot  even 
sleep  at  ease,  every  time  I  think  of  his  miserable 
condition  in  prison." 

For  years  after  Hayashi  left  their  home,  the  Hep- 
bums  spoke  of  him  as  their  son. 

"After  more  than  twenty-five  years  of  separation 
from  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hepburn,  I  visited  them  again 
in  1893  in  their  new  abode,  on  the  Bluff  in  Yoko- 
hama," Count  Hayashi  continued  his  reminiscences. 
"I  was  pleased  to  find  one  of  these  servants  still  in 
the  Doctor's  service,  he  having  been  the  youngest  at 
the  time  of  the  incident  referred  to  (on  the  preceding 
page).  He  was  serving  in  as  loyal  and  faithful  a 
manner  as  ever.  As  I  was  told  by  Mrs.  Hepburn, 
and  as  I  found,  he  wrought  with  unabated  regard 
and  admiration  for  his  master.  I  think  he  remained 
with  the  family  until  they  left  Japan  for  good." 
f  120  1 


MRS.    HEPBURN 


A    GOOD    WIFE 

Whether  the  occasion  was  great  or  small  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Hepburn  were  always  kind  and  considerate 
to  all.  Their  life  endeared  them  both  to  the  Japanese 
of  all  classes.  Count  Hayashi  said  of  Dr.  Hepburn: 
"His  duty  as  a  missionary  was  not  of  a  nature  to 
admit  of  any  thrilling  incidents  in  his  career,  but  his 
was  one  continual  and  unswerving  appHcation  to  his 
own  conduct  of  the  teachings  which  he  spent  the 
best  part  of  his  life  in  propagating  in  my  country. 
His  devotion  to  his  duties  made  his  life  not  less 
honored  and  noble,  though  perhaps  less  brilliant, 
than  those  of  the  world's  most  public  men,  whose 
actions  may  have  commanded  the  admiration  of 
mankind." 

As  for  the  golden  memories  recalled  and  words  of 
affectionate  appreciation  spoken  in  the  churches  by 
native  pastors,  whose  early  training  was  at  the  feet 
of  this  Yokohama  Gamaliel  or  his  helpmate,  we  can 
cull  only  a  few.  ^ 

In  the  address  of  Rev.  Yamano,  at  the  opening  of 
Shiloh  church,  in  1892,  occurred  these  words: 

"The  feeling  between  parents  and  children  is  our 
feeling  toward  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hepburn.  Verily  they 
are  our  father  and  mother  for  the  interest  they  take 
in  us." 

In  his  address,  Mr.  G.  S.  Ishikawa  paid  a  remark- 
able compliment  to  Mrs.  Hepburn:  "Do  you  think 
Dr.  Hepburn  could  have  accomplished  his  grand 
work  without  his  most  faithful  and  courageous 
helpmeet?  I  positively  declare  'No.'  He  could 
[1211 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

never  have  done  it  alone.  At  least  half  of  his  work 
should  be  credited  to  his  most  devoted  wife." 

To  all  of  this,  the  man  who  knew  best  the  facts 
could  and  did  answer  "  Amen."  The  burden  of  his 
replies  to  the  men's  appreciations,  which  he  received 
when  about  to  leave  Japan,  in  1892,  and  which  in- 
cluded his  companion  in  life,  was  uniform.  He  made 
feehng  answer,  with  variety  in  words  but  in  substance 
one,  as  follows: 

"No  companion  of  any  man  could  have  done  more 
than  my  wife."  He  said  he  had  "always  asked  God 
to  give  him  a  good  wife  and  his  petition  was  more 
than  answered." 

Whether  one  approve  or  condemn  Dr.  Hepburn's 
opinions  on  coeducation,  woman's  suffrage  and  other 
agitating  questions  of  the  twentieth  century,  no  one 
can  deny  that  his  happy  personal  experience  formed 
the  foundation  for  his  rather  conservative  opinion 
and  judgments. 


[122] 


XIII 
THE  GOLDEN  KEY 

IT  is  the  glory  of  Christian  missions  that  to-day  in 
Japan  the  missionary  physician  is,  in  most  places, 
hardly  needed;  for  the  Japanese  themselves  have 
so  developed  the  arts  and  sciences  of  health  and 
healing,  that  they  can  take  care  of  their  own  people. 
The  record  of  their  medical  and  hygienic  achieve- 
ments at  home  and  of  the  salvation  of  their  wounded 
'in  war  is  surpassingly  brilliant,  and  the  world  knows 
it  well.  In  1909  there  were  1035  public  hospitals  in 
the  empire;  these  —  while  costing  only  half  as  much 
as  the  hospitals  of  America — probably  did  as  much 
good  work.  Of  doctors  there  were  38,561,  or  eight 
to  every  10,000  of  the  population;  of  midwives, 
27,301;  of  pharmacists  and  druggists,  34,675. 

Happy  they  who,  following  noble  calHngs,  yes, 
even  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  labor  for  the  good 
time  coming  when  they  themselves  shall  be  no  longer 
required.  Divinely  noble  was  the  spirit  of  the 
prophet,  who  foretold  the  day  when  there  would  be 
no  need  of  prophets,  or  teachers  of  the  rehgion  of 
Jehovah,  for  all  should  know  God  and  their  duty 
"from  the  least  even  to  the  greatest." 
[123  1 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

So  far  from  being  jealous  of  his  pupils,  Dr.  Hep- 
burn not  only  delighted  in  their  success,  but  rejoiced 
to  see  from  afar  the  day  when  he  could  close  his  dis- 
pensary and  retire  from  dispensary  work.  He  was 
all  the  more  ready  to  do  this  because  of  the  coming 
to  Japan  of  Dr.  J.  C.  Berry,  missionary  of  the 
American  Board  for  twenty-one  years.  Dr.  Hepburn 
looked  on  Dr.  Berry  as  one  who,  in  a  sense,  should  be 
his  successor,  carrying  forth  in  the  Kobe  district  the 
work  he  was  about  to  lay  down  at  Yokohama  in  order 
to  give  himself  entirely  to  the  task  of  translation. 

Dr.  Berry  profited  greatly  by  conversation  with  Dr. 
Hepburn  as  to  methods  of  missionary  work.  He 
says:  "The  succeeding  years  of  my  life  were  very 
much  influenced  by  this  quiet,  faithful,  consecrated 
man.  His  work  greatly  enhanced  the  popular  esti- 
mate of  the  work  of  medical  missions  and  made  the 
work  even  more  easy  and  delightful."  Dr.  Berry 
tells  then  of  his  indebtedness  to  Dr.  Hepburn  by 
starting  him  on  work  as  a  specialist  that  in  recent 
years  has  made  him  famous  in  America. 

"Though  skillful  as  a  surgeon  and  physician.  Dr. 
Hepburn  was  especially  renowned  in  Japan  as  an 
ocuHst;  and  when  I  commenced  work,  it  was  assumed 
by  the  people  that  as  Dr.  Hepburn  was  an  oculist, 
and  an  American  physician,  I  being  an  American, 
must  also  know  about  the  diseases  of  the  eye.  The 
result  was  large  clinics  of  eye  diseases  at  my  hos- 
pitals and  dispensaries,  from  the  very  first.  .  .  .  This 
necessitated  special  study  on  my  part  which,  fol- 
[1241 


THE    GOLDEN    KEY 

lowed  by  an  increase  of  my  practice  there,  made  it 
easy  to  qualify  as  a  specialist  in  ophthalmology  when 
I  came  away  from  Japan,  and  took  up  special  study 
in  Vienna." 

When  Dr.  Hepburn  deemed  that  medical  knowl--^ 
edge  in  Japan  had  advanced  sufficiently,  he  began  his 
second  and  greater  task,  which  will  outlive,  in  its 
results,  even  the  blessed  work  of  healing  the  bodies 
of  men.  For  —  in  the  words  of  a  Japanese  orator  — 
"by  his  dictionary,  he  made  neighbors  of  distant 
nations."  His  book  of  words  formed  "the  golden 
key"  that  opened  the  East  to  the  West  and  the 
West  to  the  East.  ^ 

In  the  week  after  landing,  in  1859,  Dr.  Hepburn 
began  thirty- three  years  of  systematic  daily  toil, 
glimpses  of  which  I  had  the  frequent  honor  and 
pleasure  of  seeing,  when  enjoying  the  boundless 
hospitality  of  his  home,  and  discussing  with  him 
Japanese  affairs.  He  seemed  always  glad  to  see  me, 
for  the  point  of  view  of  a  man  in  the  capital,  the 
center  of  purely  native  affairs,  was  usually  quite 
different  from  that  of  one  whose  life  was  of  necessity 
spent  at  the  seaport,  among  the  merchants  and 
natives  of  the  lower  classes.  At  Yokohama  any 
official  present  would  resemble  an  oyster,  rather 
than  a  bugle,  in  dispensing  political  information. 

Realizing  the  necessity  then  of  knowing  the  Jap- 
anese language  not  only  in  its  perspective  and  growth 
and  the  poHte  speech  of  the  cultured,  but  also  the 
common  people's  vernacular.  Dr.  Hepburn  listened 
[125  1 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

to  the  plain  folks  and  gathered  up  their  idioms.  He 
aspired  to  be  able  to  read  the  entire  Japanese  litera- 
ture, from  the  prehistoric  time  to  the  twentieth  cen- 

^  tury.  What  this  means,  we  in  America  can  best 
understand  by  the  statement,  not  lightly  made,  at 
the  decease  in  191 2  of  the  late  Rev.  Walter  W.  Skeat, 
author  of  "An  Etymological  Dictionary  of  the  English 
Language"  and  professor  of  Anglo-Saxon  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge.  It  was  affirmed,  by  men  know- 
ing what  they  were  saying,  that  he  was  "the  only 
man  who  could  read  and  understand  the  entire 
English  language." 

X  Dr.  Hepburn  read  scores  of  Japanese  novels,  both 
historical  and  romantic,  classic  and  ephemeral,  select 
and  vulgar.  Such  works  as  the  "Glory  and  Fall  of 
the  Minamoto  Family,"  the  Heike  Monogotari,  or 
Romance  of  the  Heike  Clan,  which  come  under  the 
head  of  "classical  fiction,"  and  which  all  Japanese 
gentlemen  and  many  of  the  educated  women  are 
expected  to  read,  were  his  favorites.  Kjiowing  that — 
unless  all  history  and  human  nature  should  be  reversed 
—  the  majority  of  his  hearers  would  be  women  and 
children,  he  devoured,  for  his  Master's  sake,  hun- 
dreds of  the  cheap,  popular  storybooks.  These 
were  written  in  the  hira-kana,  or  simple  running 
script,  which  young  people  and  the  slightly  edu- 
cated could  read.  Though  often  repelled,  as  every 
clean-minded  man  must  be,  with  the  moral  foulness 
and  vile  obscenity  of  many  of  these  stories,  he  handled 
them  very  much  as  the  farmer  spreads  manure  — 
[1261 


THE    GOLDEN    KEY 

not  from  any  liking  for  the  job,  but  for  the  sake  of 
the  expected  crop.  He  hoped,  by  the  re-creating 
and  transmuting  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  bring 
forth  out  of  the  black  mire  of  the  pagan  mind  the.v^ 
pure  white  lotus  flower  of  Christianity.  I  confess 
that  while  reading  Japanese  novels  of  the  early  day 
I  have  more  than  once  flung  down  in  disgust  the 
filthy  stuff  whose  obscenity  lay  on  the  surface,  as 
a  top  dressing,  and  was  stored  deeply  all  along  the 
literary  route  like  the  open  cesspools  so  often  seen 
at  the  sides  of  the  fields  in  rural  Japan. 

I  remember  being  in  the  Doctor's  study,  when  he 
had  just  been  reading  that  amazing  and  wonderful 
record  of  the  travels  of  Kidahachi  and  Yazirobei 
along  the  Tokaido,  or  Eastern  Sea  Road,  from  Yedo 
to  Kyoto.  These  two  tramps,  for  such  they  were, 
named  their  book  Hizakurige,  that  is,  literally,  Leg- 
Hair,  an  idiom  which  corresponds  to  our  "Shank's 
Mare."  Professor  Chamberlain  has  characterized 
this  book  as  "the  cleverest  production  of  the  Japanese 
pen,"  and  I  am  inclined  to  agree  with  this  verdict. 
It  is  an  exceedingly  naughty  story,  full  of  all  kinds 
of  improper  adventures,  and  sometimes  the  literary 
condiment  approaches  a  piquancy  not  calculated  to 
minister  either  to  sound  spiritual  digestion,  or  to 
the  edifying  of  the  nobler  part  of  man.  Yet  its  wit, 
humor,  shrewd  judgments,  bright-colored  descrip- 
tions and  most  amusing  episodes  —  all  given  with 
the  rapid  movement  of  a  picture-play  —  make  it 
one  of  the  most  readable  of  Japanese  books.  As  a 
[127] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

mirror  of  life,  on  the  most  traveled  road  in  the  empire, 
in  the  old  days  of  the  daimios,  it  has  not  been  sur- 
passed. Its  text  is  hardly  translatable,  nor  is  it 
probable  that  the  translation  —  even  if  possible  — 
would  ever  be  a  paying  proposition,  even  if  expurgated 
and  fumigated,  for  the  glorious  days  of  the  ever- 
crowded  and  busy  highway  of  the  Tokaido  are 
forever  over.  The  abolition  of  feudalism,  the  new 
commercial  life,  the  habits  of  travel  by  steamer  and 
railway  have  relegated  the  Eastern  Sea  Road,  once 
as  lively  as  a  county  fair,  to  shady  desuetude. 

We  laughed  over  some  of  the  odd  adventures  of 
the  redoubtable  walkers,  and  agreed  that,  apart  from 
the  literary  fascination  of  the  book  and  its  power  to 
touch  both  fancy  and  imagination,  it  was  a  rich 
storehouse  of  local  idiom  and  dialectical  peculiari- 
ties. Several  trips  over  the  Tokaido  afterwards, 
made  its  word-pictures  even  more  vivid. 

^  Thus  the  Doctor,  mastering  all  levels  of  the  native 
speech,  was  able,  in  the  dispensary,  his  Bible  class, 
his  ministrations  in  prayer  meeting  and  in  pulpit,  to 
talk  "in  a  tongue  understanded  of  the  people,"  and 
to  bring  home  Christian  truths  in  a  manner  to  be 
quickly  apprehended  and  deeply  cherished.  He 
welcomed  knowledge  from  every  source,  and  his 
familiarity  with  science,  history  and  literature  made 

V,  him  an  ideal  lexicographer  and  translator. 

It  seems  a  curious  fact  that  he  who  could  for  so 
many  years  speak  with  sufficient  and  engaging  fluency 
in  Japanese,  should  at  times,  when  at  home,  so  dis- 
[1281 


THE    GOLDEN    KEY 

trust  himself  in  the  public  use  of  his  native  tongue. 
Even  in  boyhood  days,  the  question  came  up  as  to 
his  ability  to  speak  in  public,  when  deciding  upon 
the  choice  of  a  career.  Pleading  at  the  bar,  or  use- 
fulness in  the  pulpit  would  require  some  oratorical 
power,  which  he  —  as  boy  or  man  —  never  possessed. 
Even  in  the  maturity  of  his  powers,  he  more  than  once 
lost  faith  in  himself  to  speak  acceptably  to  an  audi- 
ence. In  later  years  American  Christians  were 
hungry  for  news  from  Japan,  specially  when  the 
prospects  of  the  kingdom's  coming  were  very  dark. 
On  one  occasion,  while  visiting  his  home,  he  was 
induced,  almost  by  main  force,  to  enter  a  pulpit  to 
speak.  When  the  time  came  for  him  to  speak,  he 
rose,  trembling,  and  succeeded  three  times  in  get- 
ting as  far  as  to  say  "My  dear  friends."  Then 
he  retreated  and  sat  down,  refusing  to  get  up 
again ! 

Nevertheless,  having  five  talents,  instead  of  ten, 
he  buried  none.  As  teacher  and  in  council  and 
where  speech,  not  of  an  oratorical,  but  of  a  delibera- 
tive kind  was  required,  he  always  dehvered  his 
thoughts  with  force  and  clarity,  speaking  with 
brevity  and  to  the  point.  He  reminded  one  of  Dr. 
John  Hall  in  council,  whose  every  word  seemed  to 
weigh  a  pound.  It  is  certain  that  he  was  a  model 
to  brethren  inclined  to  follow  the  track  of  the  Meander 
River. 

This  tireless  student  rose  every  day  at  five  o'clock 
in  the  morning  and  in  cold  weather  made  his  own 
[129] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

fire.  He  worked  until  breakfast  time,  which  was 
between  seven  and  eight.  Then  followed  family 
worship,  after  which  he  took  a  short  stroll,  then  he 
went  into  the  dispensary,  usually  for  an  hour,  but 
sometimes  for  three  or  four  hours.  In  addition  to 
the  usually  crowded  front  room,  there  was  another 
back  of  it,  which,  besides  chairs  for  the  patients  who 
were  called  in  one  by  one  for  treatment,  was  well  pro- 
vided with  shelves  for  medicine,  and  for  Chinese 
Bibles  and  tracts.  These  latter,  in  time,  gave  way 
to  the  same  blessed  messages  in  easily  read  Japanese. 
Returning  to  his  study,  he  worked  on  his  dictionary, 
or  his  reading  in  Japanese  literature,  and,  in  later 
days,  on  his  translation  or  revision  of  the  Bible,  until 
dinner  time,  at  one  o'clock.  In  the  afternoons  he 
would  take  his  exercise  and  attend  to  the  innumerable 
calls,  medical,  evangelical,  social,  or  to  multifarious 
public  services.  The  evening  was  usually  spent  in 
light  work,  or  in  fulfilling  social  demands. 

So  it  came  to  pass  that,  to  the  surprise  and  delight 
of  a  small  but  eagerly  waiting  public,  he  got  out  the 
first  edition  of  his  great  dictionary,  on  which  all  others 
are  based,  as  early  as  1867.  The  art  of  prhiting  by 
means  of  metal  type  not  having  yet  been  introduced 
among  the  Japanese,  he  went  to  Shanghai,  and  there 
spent  several  months  reading  proof  and  overseeing 
the  printing.  The  work  was  done  at  the  Presbyterian 
Mission  Press,  which  has  been  as  a  great  lighthouse 
in  modern  China.  Its  output  for  the  enlightenment 
of  the  Far  East  cannot  be  measured  till  eternity 
[  130] 


THE    GOLDEN    KEY 

dawns.  Its  widening  influence  can  be  compared  only 
to  the  ever-increasing  wavelets  which  circle  from  the 
central  pebble. 

In  his  preface  he  says  that  only  two  printed  works, 
in  Japanese  —  the  Japanese-Portuguese  dictionary 
published  in  1603,  compiled  by  a  Jesuit  missionary, 
and  a  small  Japanese  vocabulary  by  Dr.  Medhurst, 
printed  in  Batavia,  in  1830  —  then  existed.  There 
was  indeed,  in  the  early  sixties,  one  English  and 
Japanese  dictionary,  compiled  by  the  Satsuma 
scholars,  but  this  was  only  for  natives  of  Japan, 
Dr.  Hepburn  fixed  the  definitions  in  English,  making 
Japanese  the  basis. 

When  an  invoice  of  the  completed  dictionary 
arrived  in  Yokohama,  there  was  excitement  indeed. 
Old  residents  could  scarcely  believe  their  own  eyes. 
The  new  situation  was  as  thrilling  as  the  revelation 
in  a  moment  of  a  vast  landscape,  a  Darien-peak  view. 
It  enabled  men  thus  to  see,  as  it  were,  two  continents 
joined  —  rather,  perhaps,  solid  land  and  boundless 
ocean  made  one.  Two  worlds,  as  by  an  isthmus, 
seemed  to  have  been  united.  Perhaps  we  might 
liken  it  to  the  Panama  Canal  ready  for  operation. 
As  for  a  rapid  feat  of  intellect  and  industry,  it  seemed 
a  tour  de  force,  a  Marathon  run.  The  well-trained 
spiritual  athlete,  despite  a  frail  body,  had  tossed  and 
floored  all  obstacles  one  after  another. 

The  translator  was  able  to  pay  his  printing,  boarding 
and  travel  expenses  from  the  sale  of  the  first  edition 
of  his  great  work,  but  scarcely  more.     In  the  hands 
[1311 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

of  the  dealers  and  those  who  had  copies,  the  price 
steadily  rose.  When  the  Elder  Statesmen  and  poli- 
ticians of  to-day  —  the  power  behind  the  throne  — 
were  as  yet  young  students,  I  well  remember  how 
valued  and  prized  this  book  was  among  them,  for 
I  knew  them  all.  When  I  arrived  in  Yokohama  in 
1870,  and  sought  to  purchase  Hepburn's  dictionary, 
the  price  demanded  at  one  store  was  thirty-two 
dollars,  but  from  a  friend,  who  had  a  spare  copy,  I 
secured  one  for  eighteen  dollars.  I  afterwards  heard 
that  sixty-two  dollars  was  paid  for  a  copy  in  ordinary 
binding. 

Since  that  time,  other  dictionaries  in  French, 
German,  Italian,  Dutch  and  Russian,  and  —  for 
aught  I  know  to  the  contrary  —  in  other  languages, 
have  appeared.  Indeed,  some  say  there  are  at  least 
twenty  in  foreign  tongues  now  on  the  market,  in 
addition  to  the  score  or  more  of  dictionaries  made  by 
the  Japanese.  But  no  maker  of  any  dictionary,  ex- 
plaining or  translating  the  Japanese,  could  afford 
to  ignore  the  work  which  Dr.  Hepburn  did.  One  of 
the  secretaries  of  the  Japanese  Legation  at  Washing- 
tion  wrote  to  me  recently,  as  follows:  "Indeed  I  may 
say  what  every  Japanese  will  agree  with  me  in  saying, 
that  the  dictionaries  which  followed  his  were  in  fact 
merely  revised  editions  of  his  work." 

Dr.  Hepburn's  first  business  dealings  with  a  Jap- 
anese publisher  were  not  such  as  to  confirm  the 
hopes  of  those  who  trusted  either  in  the  rapid  rise 
in  reputation  of  Japan's  commercial  integrity,  or 
[132] 


THE    GOLDEN    KEY 

the  actual  improvement  in  morals  of  the  native 
dealers.  In  one  case,  in  1883,  a  native  bookseller,  — 
who  had  evidently  made  a  handsome  thing  from  the 
sale  of  the  dictionaries  —  felt  himself  greatly  injured 
by  the  Doctor's  publishing  in  New  York  an  abridged 
edition  of  his  great  work.  He  declared  that  he  would 
be  revenged  on  the  lexicographer  —  as  the  Doctor 
wrote  —  *'by  republishing,  with  improvements,  any 
new  edition  of  my  dictionary  I  may  bring  out.  This 
matter  of  selling  my  dictionary  to  him  and  putting 
myself  in  his  power  has  been  a  very  great  mistake  and 
sorrow  to  me."  His  later  relations  with  the  highly 
enterprising  and  honorable  firm  of  Z.  P.  Maruya  & 
Co.,  of  Tokyo,  were  wholly  satisfactory. 

A  second  edition  of  the  dictionary  appeared  in 
1872,  printed  in  Shanghai  as  before.  It  was  when  in 
New  York,  in  1873,  that  the  Doctor  brought  out  an 
abridged  edition  of  this  work.  About  the  same  time, 
amid  the  heat  of  a  Manhattan  summer,  he  trans- 
literated in  Roman  characters  the  translation  into 
Japanese  of  the  Gospel  of  John.  The  American  Bible 
Society  published  it,  interleaved  with  the  English 
version. 

On  May  7,  1886,  he  finished  the  revision  of  his 
third  edition  and  obtained  government  copyright, 
through  Z.  P.  Maruya  &  Co.  The  profits  from  this 
edition  were  large,  since  so  many  thousands  of  Jap- 
anese were  eagerly  studying  English,  and  missionaries 
in  Japan  were  now  as  numerous  as  a  regiment  of 
soldiers.  So  the  Doctor  was  able  to  assist  liberally 
[133] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

the  Shiloh  church  and  the  Meiji  Gaku-in,  or  college, 
in  Tokyo.  Having  entered  fully  into  the  spirit  of 
Jesus,  he  found  by  joyful  experience,  that  it  was 
"more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive."  This 
liberality  in  giving  characterized  him  all  through 
life.  After  his  death,  when  I  went  into  his  study  at 
East  Orange,  New  Jersey,  I  found  it  incredibly  bare. 
He  had  given  everything  away  that  could  be  useful 
to  anyone  else.  Taking  the  promises  of  God  seri- 
ously, he  had  lent  all  to  the  Lord. 

Before  going  over  to  China  to  print  the  first  edition 
of  his  dictionary,  he  made  himself  ready  for  new 
opportunities  to  open  men's  hearts.  There  was  an 
even  easier  and  quicker  way  of  reaching  individuals 
and  sowing  the  seed  of  the  Word :  this  was  by  means 
of  the  tract.  Scattered  as  from  the  sower's  hand, 
millions  of  these  leaves  would  fall  upon  the  hard 
wayside,  on  the  thin  soil  of  rocky  ground,  amid 
thorns  —  furnishing  food  only  for  the  birds  of  jest 
and  indifference — or  amid  the  hideous  thorns  of  real 
enmity.  Nevertheless,  where  the  lifeholding  germs 
found  hidden  lodgment  in  honest  hearts,  there 
would  be  a  return,  thirty,  sixty  and  a  hundred  fold; 
of  this  the  Doctor  might  hear  only  in  later  years, 
and  often  not  at  all. 

Dr.  Hepburn  began  his  work  in  the  literature  of 
tracts  by  translating  one  written  in  Chinese,  by  Divie 
Bethune  McCartee,  M.D.,  called  "A  True  Doctrine 
Explained."  He  had  wooden  blocks  secretly  cut  in 
Yokohama,  and  then  sent  them  to  Shanghai  in  1867 
[134] 


THE    GOLDEN    KEY 

to  be  printed.  This  was  the  first  Christian  tract 
published  in  the  Japanese  Empire.  Five  thousand 
copies  were  issued.  In  1874,  he  translated  and 
pubhshed  a  little  tract  called  "The  Sweet  Sad  Story 
of  the  Cross." 

Later  on,  he  put  into  Japanese  and  published  the 
Westminster  Shorter  Catechism,  and  the  Confes- 
sion of  Faith.  With  the  cooperation  of  Rev.  Edward 
Rothesay  Miller,  he  translated  the  Form  of  Govern- 
ment of  the  Union  Church  of  Japan.  Later  on,  as 
a  member  of  the  Bible  Revising  Committee,  he 
revised  Rev.  J.  Piper's  translation  of  the  books  of 
Jonah,  Haggai  and  Malachi,  and  prepared  them  for 
publication  by  the  Bible  Society,  and  also  the  Book  of 
Joshua,  done  into  Japanese  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fyson. 
In  1880  he  transliterated  into  the  Roman  letter 
the  whole  New  Testament  and  published  it  in 
Yokohama,  for  the  American  Bible  Society.  In 
1 88 1  he  was  engaged  in  translating  the  book  of 
Proverbs. 

Thus  in  the  medical  art,  in  literature,  and  in 
Bible  translation,  James  Curtis  Hepburn  built 
imperishable  memorials  in  Japan.  Yet  the  greatest 
monument  —  more  Hke  a  lighthouse,  with  lamps 
ever  trimmed  and  burning  and  pulsing  out  its  beams 
of  life-saving  light  afar  —  is  the  monument  of  char- 
acter which  he  left.  One  who  lived  long  among 
missionaries  and  met  with  many  types  of  human 
beings  in  several  countries  wrote  me  concerning 
Dr.  Hepburn: 

[  135  1 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

"Zeal  and  work  are  great  things,  but  in  the  long 
run  it  is  character  that  tells;  and  in  what  high  and 
homely,  what  lofty  and  intimate  strains  has  been  sung 
the  life  song  of  this  man,  —  physician,  translator, 
teacher,  author  and  Christian  gentleman!" 


[136] 


XIV 

A  RAILWAY  THROUGH  THE  NATIONAL 
INTELLECT 

THE  first  of  first  things  for  a  Christian  mis- 
sionary is  to  give  the  people  the  Word  of  God 
in  their  own  tongue.  Yet  this  very  first  thing 
cannot  be  done  immediately,  for  man  is  finite.  He 
must  patiently  learn  the  vernacular  of  those  among 
whom  he  lives.  A  day  of  Pentecost  cannot  be 
improvised  for  each  and  every  individual.  Like 
the  landscape  of  mountains  and  plains  —  nature  in 
variety  —  there  is  a  higher  and  a  lower  form  of 
speech,  a  spoken  and  a  written  language,  and  both 
must  be  mastered.  The  real  perils  and  possible 
pitfalls  of  unpleasant  mental  associations  must  be 
avoided,  the  mire  of  infelicity  leaped  or  quickly 
passed,  and  the  eternal  proprieties  made  the  law 
of  translation.  Surely  no  Panama  Canal,  no  railway 
up  Mount  Washington,  or  bridging  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence or  Zambesi  rivers  requires  bolder  engineering 
or  finer  skill. 

The  story  of  the  Bible  in  Japanese,  as  given  by 
Dr.  Hepburn,  at  the  public  celebration  of  the  com-  < 
pletion  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  great  meeting 
[1371 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

held  in  Tokyo,  April  19,  1880,  is  probably  the  best 
extant.  It  is  a  romantic  story  of  perseverance  and 
discouragement,  of  indomitable  industry  and  of 
victory  over  many  obstacles.  Though  no  numerous 
or  extensive  attempts  at  translation  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  were  made  before  the  modern  opening  of 
Japan,  the  history  of  these  is  very  interesting. 

The  Doctor  wrote  of  these:  "It  is  not  known  that 
the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  in  Japan  between 
1549  and  1587,  —  that  is,  between  the  arrival  of 
Francis  Xavier  and  the  edict  of  expulsion,  —  trans- 
lated and  published  any  portions  of  the  Bible,  and 
this  notwithstanding  they  had  full  liberty  of  speech 
and  met  with  no  political  hindrances  to  their  work. 
They  translated  the  Ten  Commandments  and  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  and  probably  some  of  the  narrative 
portions  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  some  of  the 
Psalms  and  parables,  and  portions  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament sufficient  for  their  liturgical  worship;  but 
nothing  remains  now  that  we  know  of.  Their  work 
did  not  survive  probably  the  scrutiny  and  destruc- 
tion of  the  Japanese  Government.  In  the  religious 
books  published  for  the  use  of  the  native  converts 
free  use  was  made  of  Latin  terms,  such  as  Deus, 
gratia,  animus,  sanctus,  spiritu,  inferno,  iglesia,  filio, 
baptismo,  etc." 

In  modern  times  the  first  known  translation  of  any 

part  of  the  Bible  into  Japanese  was,  as  we  have  seen, 

by  the  Prussian,  Rev.  Karl  Gutzlaff,  in  connection 

with  the  Netherlands  Mission  Society,  in  1827.     He 

[138] 


THE    NATIONAL    INTELLECT 

came  to  Siam  in  1832,  and  was  afterwards  Colonial 
Secretary  at  Hong  Kong,  where  he  translated  the  New 
Testament  into  Chinese.  His  knowledge  of  the 
Japanese  language  was  gained  largely  through  ship- 
wrecked sailors,  of  whom  there  has  always  been  a 
constant  supply  on  the  Asiatic  coast. 

In  1880,  Dr.  Hepburn  holding  up  this  rare  bibHo- 
graphical  treasure,  Gutzlaff's  version,  said:  "This 
is  undoubtedly  the  first  effort  to  render  the  Word  of 
life  into  Japanese,  and  though  exceedingly  imperfect 
and  abounding  with  errors,  it  cannot  but  be  regarded 
by  every  Christian  heart  with  respect." 

Some  specimens  of  the  ideas  and  dialect  of  the 
sailors,  as  used  by  Gutzlaff,  were  given.  The  word 
for  God  was  Gokuraku,  which  the  Buddhists  use 
for  Paradise,  or  the  state  of  supreme  bliss.  For 
logos,  or  the  Word,  he  used  an  expression  meaning  a 
wise  or  clever  person.  For  Holy  Spirit,  the  term 
employed  is  kami,  which  means  simply  superior,  and 
is  a  very  inadequate  expression  for  anything  divine. 

About  the  same  time  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams  met 
with  one  or  two  Japanese  sailors  and  with  their  aid 
translated  the  book  of  Genesis  and  perhaps  one  of 
the  Gospels.  In  i860  he  sent  these  in  manuscript  to 
Dr.  Hepburn,  but  they  were  never  published,  and 
were  burned  in  the  fire  which  destroyed  Dr.  S.  R. 
Brown's  house  in  1867.  Happily  these  Japanese 
friends  of  Dr.  Williams  were  so  influenced  in  their 
work  on  the  Scriptures  that  they  became  Christians 
and  adorned  the  doctrine  they  believed. 
[1391 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

The  next  translator  was  a  Hungarian  Hebrew,  Rev. 
B.  J.  Bettelheim,  M.D.,  who  was  sent  by  the  Naval 
Mission  to  the  Riu  Kiu  Islands.  Despite  his  great 
strength  of  mind  and  body,  he  succumbed  at  last  to 
the  insults,  annoyances  and  intimidation  to  which 
he  was  subjected  by  the  authorities  and  left  in  1854, 
living  for  a  time  in  Chicago.  He  is  believed  to  have 
made  a  translation  of  the  whole  New  Testament  in 
the  Riu  Kiu  (Loo  Choo)  dialect,  and  while  in  Hong 
Kong  published  the  Gospel  of  Luke  on  blocks,  in 
royal  octavo  size,  with  Gutzlaff's  translation  in 
Chinese  at  the  top  of  the  page  and  his  own,  in  the  Riu 
Kiu  dialect,  at  the  bottom  in  kata-kana.  Afterwards, 
Dr.  Bettelheim  revised  his  work  in  Chicago  with  the 
assistance  of  a  Japanese,  and  so  brought  it  into  con- 
formity with  the  pure  Japanese.  This  revision,  con- 
sisting of  the  four  Gospels  and  Acts  in  the  script, 
called  hira-kana,  or  running  hand,  was  printed  at 
Vienna,  in  1872,  for  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  and  a  good  many  copies  were  sent  to  Japan, 
but  probably  these  were  little  read.  Thus  the  pio- 
neers —  amid  enormous  labors,  on  a  thorny  path  and 
in  noble  spirit  —  made  a  beginning. 

All  the  first  missionaries  after  the  Harris  treaty  of 
1859  saw  the  necessity  of  putting  the  gospel  into 
Japanese.  Dr.  Hepburn  began  the  work  as  early 
as  1861,  but  such  was  the  prejudice  against  Chris- 
tianity at  that  time  and  so  great  the  fear  of  the 
government,  that  his  teacher,  after  proceeding  a 
little  way  in  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  positively 
[140] 


THE    NATIONAL    INTELLECT 

declined  to  help  him  further  and  left  his  service.  In 
later  years  this  man  entered  the  Christian  Church. 
Dr.  S.  R.  Brown,  beginning  in  1856,  lost  all  his 
manuscripts  in  the  fire  of  1867.  Dr.  Hepburn  and 
Rev.  Messrs.  Ballagh  and  Thompson  met  in  the  dis- 
pensary and  spent  nine  months  on  the  Gospel  of 
Matthew,  and  Dr.  David  Thompson  attempted  the 
book  of  Genesis  in  1869,  but  none  of  these  transla- 
tions were  printed. 

The  Baptist  missionaries  led  the  way  in  actual 
publication.  Rev.  Jonathan  Goble,  formerly  a  ma- 
rine in  Commodore  Perry's  service,  issued  his  rude 
translation  of  Matthew,  in  the  autumn  of  1871,  in 
hira-kana,  which  was  the  first  of  any  of  the  books  of 
the  Bible  that  were  published  in  the  empire.  He 
said:  "I  tried  in  Yokohama  to  get  the  blocks  cut  for 
printing,  but  aU  seemed  afraid  to  undertake  it,  and 
I  was  only  able  to  get  it  done  in  Tokyo,  by  a  man 
who,  I  think,  did  not  know  the  nature  of  the  book 
he  was  working  upon." 

One  of  the  wonderful  feats  of  translation  in  modern 
times  was  the  rendering  of  the  whole  of  the  New 
Testament  in  Japanese,  by  the  veteran  missionary, 
Rev.  Nathan  Brown.  In  1880  Dr.  Hepburn  con- 
gratulated "our  Baptist  brethren  assembled  here 
to-day.  They  have  an  especial  cause,  also,  for 
rejoicing  in  the  completion  of  their  version  by  that 
veteran  missionary  and  our  friend,  Dr.  Nathan 
Brown,  who  having  accomplished  a  similar  work  for 
the  natives  of  Assam,  has  the  honor  also  of  having 
[141] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

completed  the  translation  of  the  New  Testament  into 
this  language  and  publishing  it  some  months  previous 
to  this  committee." 

Before  1870,  Dr.  Hepburn  had  translated  the  four 
Gospels  with  the  help  of  Okuno,  and  these  were 
revised  by  Dr.  S.  R.  Brown  and  himself,  with  Okuno's 
assistance,  and  published:  Mark  and  John  in  the 
autumn  of  1872,  and  Matthew  in  the  spring  of  1873. 

In  September,  1872,  the  Protestant  missionary 
societies,  then  represented  in  Japan,  made  provision 
to  translate  the  Bible.  The  committee,  consisting 
y  of  Messrs.  Brown,  Hepburn  and  Greene,  did  not 
meet  until  June,  1874.  The  other  missions,  includ- 
ing the  English  and  American  Episcopal  and  Pere 
Nicolai  of  the  Greek  Church,  were  invited  to  co- 
operate. Rev.  Nathan  Brown  sat  with  the  com- 
mittee about  eighteen  months,  until  January,  1876. 
On  November  3,  1879  —  five  years  and  six  months 
after  they  had  begun  their  work  of  translating  and 
revising  —  the  New  Testament  appeared  in  public. 

The  translators  determined  to  seek  a  golden  mean 
between  the  quasi-Chinese  style,  only  intelligible  to 
the  highly  educated,  and  the  vulgar  colloquial; 
they  wanted  a  medium  respected  even  by  the  so-called 
literati,  but  also  easy  and  inteUigible  to  all  classes. 
Therefore,  they  adhered  to  the  vernacular,  or  pure 
Japanese,  and  to  a  style  which  may  be  called  classic, 
in  which  many  of  their  best  books  intended  for  the 
common  reader  are  written. 

Of  the  Japanese  helpers,  Okuno,  Takahashi,  Miwa 
[1421 


THE    NATIONAL    INTELLECT 

and  Matsuyama,  the  latter  was  with  the  committee 
from  the  first  and  throughout  the  whole  work.  He 
was  the  chief  dependant,  assistant  and  arbiter  in 
all  cases  of  difficulty.  "Whatever  virtue  there  is  in 
our  Japanese  text,"  said  Dr.  Hepburn,  in  1880,  "it 
is  mainly,  if  not  altogether,  owing  to  his  scholarly 
ability,  the  perfect  knowledge  he  has  of  his  own 
language,  his  conscientious  care  and  his  identifying 
himself  with  the  work;  and  as  a  committee,  we  feel 
under  especial  obligations  to  him  and  extend  to 
him  our  hearty  thanks." 

Dr.  Hepburn  declared  that  there  was  no  foreigner 
in  the  country  who  had  such  a  knowledge  of  the 
Japanese  language  as  would  enable  him,  working 
alone,  to  bring  out  an  idiomatic  and  good  transla- 
tion without  the  aid  of  a  native  scholar,  and  the 
literary  merit  of  a  translation  would  depend  prin- 
cipally upon  the  ability  and  scholarship  of  his  native 
assistants. 

The  traditional  hostility  of  the  government  to 
Christianity  and  the  impossibility  of  getting  native 
printers  to  undertake  the  work  sufficiently  explain 
why  the  Scriptures,  even  in  portions,  were  not  pub- 
lished until  1872,  in  which  year  the  anti-Christian 
edicts  were  removed. 

The  members  of  the  original  committee  of  1872 
were  engaged  for  a  year  on  the  first  eleven  chapters 
of  Genesis.  It  consisted  of  the  two  Browns  (S.  R. 
and  Nathan),  Greene,  Quimby,  Maclay,  Cochran, 
Piper,  Wright,  Waddell,  Goble,  Krecker  and  Hep- 
[1-13  1 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

burn.  To  facilitate  the  work,  portions  of  the  Old 
Testament  were  assigned  to  local  committees  of 
missionaries  residing  in  eight  different  ports  and 
cities.  After  long  experience,  it  was  found  that  this 
plan  did  not  succeed  well,  and  at  a  meeting  in  Janu- 
ary, 1882,  the  permanent  committee  appointed  three 
of  its  members,  Verbeck,  Tyson  and  Hepburn,  to  do 
the  main  work.  These  were  joined  later  by  three 
Japanese  brethren,  Matsuyama,  Uyemura  and  Ibuka, 
but  their  want  of  acquaintance  with  the  original  text 
was  fatal  to  the  best  results,  and  the  Japanese  com- 
mittee finally  dissolved,  of  its  own  accord,  in  1886. 

One  by  one,  or  in  twos  and  threes,  the  books  of 
the  Old  Testament  came  out  for  publication.  De- 
spite sickness,  absence,  pressure  of  other  labors,  and 
interruptions  innumerable  and  unnameable,  the  work 
went  on.  Happily,  these  very  difficulties  and  ob- 
stacles were  transformed,  as  by  miracle,  into  aids 
and  encouragements,  for  greater  uniformity  of  style 
was  secured  and  the  translations  of  the  various 
books  were  made  into  an  unexpected  and  striking 
unity. 
\)(  In  mid-February,  187 1,  I  had  the  opportunity 
and  the  high  honor  of  being  the  first  to  carry 
into  the  far  interior  of  Japan  the  four  Gospels  in 
Japanese.  I  was  to  go  into  the  province  of  Echizen, 
on  the  west  coast,  and  in  the  city  of  Fukui,  to  organ- 
ize schools  on  the  American  system  of  public  educa- 
tion. Echizen  lay  in  front  of  the  capital,  Kyoto, 
but  behind  the  mountains,  and  the  city  was  the 
[1441 


THE    NATIONAL    INTELLECT 

stronghold  of  Buddhism.  When  I  was  ready  to 
start,  the  Doctor  had  so  far  progressed  in  his  mas- 
tery of  the  language  and  translation  of  the  Bible  that 
he  was  enabled  to  hand  me,  with  his  blessing,  a 
manuscript  copy  of  the  four  Gospels  in  Japanese. 
Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  I  carried  the  first  trans- 
lation of  the  Gospels  beyond  the  jealously  guarded 
line  of  the  treaty  ports  into  the  interior  and  at  once 
began  teaching  a  Bible  class  in  my  own  house  on 
Sunday  mornings. 

It  has  been  the  hope  of  some  of  the  most  bigoted 
of  the  official  class  to  keep  all  knowledge  of  Chris- 
tianity from  leaking  into  the  country  at  large.  An 
occasional  hint  was  given  me  that  I  had  better  not 
attempt  to  teach  Christianity  in  Fukui.  In  that 
day,  at  every  ferry  and  market  place,  along  the  high- 
roads, at  the  village  entrances,  and  in  the  cities  stood 
the  stone  platforms  containing,  inscribed  on  boards, 
the  government  edicts.  These  denounced  the  "cor- 
rupt rehgion  of  Jesus  Christ,"  with  the  offer  of 
government  gold  to  all  who  would  inform  on  followers 
of  the  accursed  sect,  or  its  teachers.  Into  the  privacy 
or  sanctity  of  my  own  home,  however,  I  never  allowed 
any  Japanese,  high  or  low,  to  insert  even  the  thin 
end  of  the  wedge  of  suggestion  of  right  or  power. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  am  bound  to  say  that  I  never 
raised  even  the  American  flag  over  my  house,  or  made 
any  outward  action  that  would  in  any  way  seem  to 
trespass  upon  the  generous  hospitality  shown  me, 
without  inquiring  of  the  authorities  whether  such 
[145] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

were  agreeable,  and  that  I  paid  scrupulous  attention 
to  all  external  public  requirements. 

In  ''The  Mission  News"  of  May  27,  1905,  Dr.  D.C. 
Greene  wrote  of  his  coworking  with  Dr.  Hepburn  in 
translating  the  Bible.     He  said: 

"In  some  respects  it  was  a  difficult  position  for  us 
both.  He  was  my  senior  by  well-nigh  thirty  years. 
Our  training  had  been  different  and  naturally  our 
points  of  view  did  not  always  coincide.  Sometimes 
the  methods  of  his  young  colleague  must  have  seemed 
iconoclastic  to  Dr.  Hepburn,  and  no  doubt  they  were 
often  ill  chosen.  Both  of  us  held  pronounced  opinions, 
which,  upon  occasion,  were  forcibly  expressed;  but, 
in  spite  of  all,  we  worked  well  together  and  very 
rarely  were  we  obliged  to  refer  a  question  in  dispute 
to  our  colleagues.  Indeed,  I  cannot  recall  a  single 
question  which  we  did  not  succeed  in  settling  by 
ourselves,  though  not  always  to  our  complete  satis- 
faction." 

^  It  was  a  thrilling  epoch  in  the  life  of  Dr.  Hepburn, 
when,  after  ten  years  of  labor,  the  New  Testament 
in  Japanese  was  ready  for  the  nation  and  empire. 
Such  an  event  might  be  in  its  celebration  as  modest 
as  the  advent  of  a  Bethlehem  babe  in  the  manger, 
though  in  the  sweep  of  its  significance,  it  might 
throw  battles  and  campaigns  into  shadow  and 
oblivion.  No  legate  of  the  Mikado  or  the  govern- 
ment was  in  the  Japanese  church  in  Tokyo,  when, 
on  April  19,  1880,  the  representatives  of  fourteen 
missionary  societies  using  the  English  language  and 
[1461 


DR.    HEPBURN    IN    1880 

At  the  time  of  the  completion  of  his  translation 

of  the  New  Testament  into  Japanese 


THE    NATIONAL    INTELLECT 

of  all  the  Protestant  churches  in  the  capital  were 
assembled  to  celebrate  the  completion  of  the  New 
Testament  translation  into  Japanese.  N 

Most  of  the  exercises  were  in  Japanese,  including 
the  singing  of  hymns,  "Nearer  My  God  to  Thee," 
"Rock  of  Ages  "  and  "Hold  the  Fort."  Rev.  Nathan 
Brown,  who  had  made  revisions  of  the  whole  New 
Testament  into  two  languages,  read  the  Nineteenth 
Psalm.  Prayer  was  offered  by  the  translator.  Rev. 
John  Piper  of  the  English  Church  Missionary  Society. 

Dr.  Verbeck's  address  was  in  the  language  of  the 
country.  He  told  of  the  various  attempts  to  give 
the  Mikado's  people  the  New  Testament  in  their 
own  tongue.  He  then  outlined  the  great  work  and 
organization  of  the  Bible  Societies,  in  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States,  all  of  which  showed  the  true 
unity  of  all  believers  in  the  God  of  the  Bible.  He 
fitly  closed  his  address,  as  he  so  often  on  other  occa- 
sions felicitously  did,  with  a  quotation  from  the 
Japanese,  "Though  diverse  the  ways  of  ascent,  it  is 
the  same  moon  that  is  beheld  from  the  lofty  moun- 
tain tops." 

Okuno  Masatusuna  made  no  reference  to  his  own 
part  in  the  work  of  translation,  but  showed  the 
superiority  of  the  Word  of  God  to  all  the  philoso- 
phies of  Greece,  the  prowess  of  Rome,  and  the 
boasted  achievements  of  science  in  modern  days. 
His  text  was  "This  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is 
marvellous  in  our  eyes."  His  powers  of  reasoning 
and  of  illustration  were  the  more  remarkable  because, 
[1471 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

though  well  instructed  in  the  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity, he  was  not  acquainted  with  any  European 
language.  An  eloquent  man  like  Apollos,  and  mighty 
in  the  Scriptures,  himself  a  living  exhibition  of  the 
power  of  the  truth  which  seems  to  clothe  its  possessor, 
he  swayed  his  auditors  as  the  mountain  breezes  bend 
the  ripe  rice  stalks  in  autumn. 

This  address  was  followed  by  a  prayer  in  Japanese 
by  Mr.  Ogawa,  a  native  pastor,  one  of  the  very  first 
laborers  in  the  translation  of  the  Gospels  into  Jap- 
anese, a  noble  monument  of  the  grace  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus,  beloved  of  all. 

Dr.  Hepburn  in  speaking  showed  that  "it  is 
especially  to  bring  the  Bible  and  make  known  its 
teachings,  that  the  Christian  missionary  comes  to 
this  land  or  goes  to  any  land."  After  showing  the 
failure  of  Buddhism  and  Confucianism,  he  laid  open 
the  actual  facts  of  paganism. 

"In  vain  we  look  in  these  countries  (China,  Japan 
and  Korea)  for  a  healthy  public  sentiment  against 
lying  and  deceit,  licentiousness  and  intemperance, 
for  civil  liberty  and  relief  from  the  oppression  and 
cruelty  of  arbitrary  power,  for  manliness,  independ- 
ence and  assertion  of  political  rights.  Nor  do  we 
see,  as  the  outcome  of  Confucianism  and  Buddhism, 
hospitals  provided  for  the  sick,  or  asylums  for  the 
poor,  infirm  and  the  outcast." 

Then  he  went  on  to  notice  the  sudden  awakening 
from  the  sleep  of  centuries  and  the  rapid  introduc- 
tion amongst  the  Japanese  of  the  fruits  of  their 
[1481 


THE    NATIONAL    INTELLECT 

civilization,  which  Western  nations  have  wrought 
out.  Again  he  spoke  fearlessly  truths  not  always 
palatable  in  Japan  and  apparently  unknown  to  the 
flatterers  of  paganism  and  those  who  to-day  minister 
to  native  vanity  by  caricaturing  history. 

In  this  nation,  neither  Confucianism  nor  Buddhism 
has  had  anything  to  do  with  these  improvements. 
They  rather  spring  from  a  peculiar  national  ambition, 
versatility  of  character,  and  readiness  to  imitate  and 
adopt  whatever  appears  to  constitute  superiority 
in  others.  "But  without  the  Bible  and  the  founda- 
tion which  it  lays  deep  in  the  hearts  of  the  people, 
we  may  well  tremble  for  the  beautiful  superstructure 
which  they  are  raising,  lest  it  come  tumbling  down  as 
quickly  as  it  has  gone  up.  The  Bible  is  what  this 
nation  now  needs  above  all  other  things." 

Urging  diligence,  without  haste  and  without  rest, 
in  the  further  work  of  putting  the  whole  Bible  into 
Japanese,  he  closed  by  saying: 

"May  the  day  soon  come,  when  we  shall  meet 
together  to  celebrate  this  most  desirable  event  — • 
the  translation  of  the  whole  Bible  into  Japanese." 

Happy  man!  He  did  live  to  see  the  end  crown 
the  work. 


149] 


XV 

UNCEASING  INDUSTRY 

IN  the  journal  kept  by  Dr.  Hepburn  from  1880 
to  1895,  the  entries  are  scanty,  but  significant. 
From  his  first  arrival  in  Yokohama  he  kept  a 
record  of  the  temperature,  and  this  ultimately  became 
of  great  value.  The  biographer  made  use  of  these 
observations  and  published  them  in  a  condensed 
form,  in  an  appendix  to  the  first  edition  of  "The 
Mikado's  Empire,"  in  1876.  When  the  Japanese 
Meteorological  Bureau  was  established,  which  fur- 
nished the  weather  probabilities  daily,  often  pre- 
dicting storms  and  earthquakes,  as  well  as  other 
expected  occurrences,  he  gave  up  this  full  record  as 
being  no  longer  needed.  He,  however,  made  notes 
on  natural  phenomena.  For  example,  he  told  of  the 
bursting  into  bloom  of  the  magnolias,  camellias,  peach 
and  cherry  trees,  and  of  his  going  out  to  see  them. 

The  instances  are  not  infrequent  of  Dr.  Hepburn's 
sickness  "in  bed,"  "with  a  severe  cold,"  etc.,  which 
showed  how  careful  this  tireless  worker  had  to  be  to 
preserve  health  and  strength. 

He  acted  as  elder  for  many  years  in  the  Union 
Church  at  Yokohama,  being  repeatedly  reelected, 
[1501 


UNCEASING    INDUSTRY 

in  spite  of  his  desire  to  decline.     For  a  time  a  bril- 
liant Canadian,  Rev.  Geo.  Cochran,  acted  as  pastor. 

On  February  25,  1887,  "Rev.  Mr.  Underwood 
arrived  from  Korea  to  publish  his  translation  of  the 
Gospel  by  Mark." 

The  fact  was  noted  that  Rev.  Mr.  Correll's  twin 
children  were  baptized  and  one  of  them  was  named 
after  Mrs.  Hepburn,  Ethel  Hepburn  Correll  —  one 
of  many  in  the  missionary  household  in  Japan  who 
bore  this  good  woman's  name. 

On  April  15,  1887,  the  faculty  of  the  Meiji  Gaku-in  V 
(Hall  of  Learning  of  the  Era  of  Enlightened  Govern- 
ment), in  Tokyo,  notified  Dr.  Hepburn,  by  letter, 
that  he  had  been  elected  president  of  the  institution 
and  appointed  to  the  chair  of  Physiology  and  Hy- 
giene. After  a  visit  to  Tokyo,  to  examine  into  the 
working  of  the  Meiji  Gaku-in,  he  wrote  accepting 
the  position  of  president  of  the  institution  and  the 
chair  of  Physiology  and  Hygiene. 

The  tender  sympathies  of  the  diarist  were  thus 
revealed  on  April  19,  1887:  "Tony  von  der  Huyde, 
born  July  9,  1872,  died  this  morning.  She  was  a 
member  of  my  wife's  Sunday  school  and  much 
beloved  for  her  gentle,  affectionate  and  intelligent 
character.  She  was  an  only  child  and  has  flown 
away  to  the  Beautiful  Land,  leaving  her  parents 
desolate  and  heartbroken.  O  Death,  how  sad  thou 
art!  But  the  Second  Adam  has  conquered  thee  and 
broken  thy  bands!    Glory  be  unto  Christ  our  Lord!" 

Here  I  may  insert  a  snapshot  picture  made  by  a 
[1511 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

lady  —  one  among  the  first  of  Christian  American 
children  born  in  Japan.  It  is  her  impression  of  the 
"old  Doctor." 

"After  many  years'  absence,  I  was  again  a  frequent 
visitor  in  his  house,  this  time  on  the  Bluff.  Mrs. 
Hepburn  was  conducting  a  Sunday-school  class  of 
the  children  of  foreign  residents,  but  the  Doctor 
was  never  able  to  inspire  the  least  awe  in  those 
dainty  little  people.  They  loved  him,  but  they 
could  not  fear  him. 

"Only  two  months  after,  in  a  hotel  in  Guadala- 
jara, Mexico,  Lady  A ,  of  London,  said  to  me, 

'You  knew  the  Hepburns?  Lovely  people!  They 
entertained  me  so  kindly,  when  I  visited  Japan  before 
the  China- Japan  war.'  Just  so!  The  command 'Be 
careful  to  entertain  strangers'  they  obeyed  literally. 
Nor  was  this  the  light  matter  it  might  appear.  On 
the  highroad  of  oriental  travel,  their  house  became 
a  sort  of  Mecca.  People  with  letters  of  introduction 
and  people  without,  people  interested  in  missions  and 
people  who  scoffed  at  them,  came  to  the  Hepburns  in 
passing,  and  all  united  in  admiration  for  these  kindly 
old  residents.  Intensely  human,  with  infinite  appre- 
ciation of  young  life,  the  Doctor  said  to  a  couple  of 
young  people,  who  were  among  the  hundreds  of 
guests  at  his  jubilee  reception,  'Have  you  found  the 
lovers'  bower  upstairs?'" 

To  resume  the  diary  story:  On  April  24,  1887,  this 
entry  was  made : 

"This  day,  twenty-eight  years  ago,  sailed  from  New 
[1521 


UNCEASING    INDUSTRY 

York  to  come  to  Japan.  Of  the  eleven  friends  that 
came  to  say  farewell  when  we  left,  six  are  dead.  The 
future  was  then  to  us  a  perfect  blank.  We  only 
knew  that  the  Lord  was  leading  us.  Now  that  I 
can  look  back  on  these  twenty-eight  years,  what  a 
history  of  God's  love  and  power  and  his  guidance 
and  care  of  us  and  of  his  work  toward  this  nation!" 

On  May  9,  1887,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hepburn  went  to 
Nikko,  renting  one  of  the  priest's  houses  for  three 
months,  till  the  first  of  July. 

On  July  25,  1887,  the  Doctor  went-  to  Nikko  for 
six  days,  enjoying  the  cool  nights,  where  a  blanket 
was  needed,  and  where  ''mosquitoes  were  few  and 
not  very  savage."  The  railway  enabled  him  now 
to  reach  this  gem  of  the  Almighty's  workmanship, 
well  named  "Sunny  Splendor,"  —  in  hours  as  few  as 
formerly  days  were  many.  He  stayed  from  August 
13  to  September  8.  He  wrote:  "Our  litttle  dog 
'  Doc '  died  on  August  30,  having  been  sick  some  three 
weeks." 

On  October  7,  1887,  Anne  Hepburn  Ballagh  was 
married  to  Rev.  Robert  Eugene  McAlpine.  (The 
biographer,  in  an  address,  before  the  Bible  Training 
School  in  New  York  on  March  20,  191 3,  on  the  cen- 
tenary of  David  Livingstone,  met  their  oldest  daughter 
preparing  for  missionary  service.)  On  October  28, 
1887,  Rev.  Young  J.  Allen  arrived  from  Shanghai, 
and  on  November  28,  Dr.  H.  N.  Allen  (first  medical 
missionary  and  afterwards  United  States  plenipo- 
tentiary in  Korea)  called. 

[153] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

On  December  14,  1887,  after  giving  details  of 
translation,  revision,  transliteration  and  preparing 
for  the  press.  Dr.  Hepburn  made  his  record: 

"Have  thus  finished  my  work  on  translating  and 
printing  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Thanks  be  to  my 
God  and  Saviour  who  has  given  me  the  health  to 
help  me  in  the  work  and  permitted  me  to  see  it 
finished.     Praise  be  to  His  holy  name." 

On  December  31,  1887,  Dr.  Hepburn  received 
from  the  Scotch  Bible  Society  a  copy  of  the  whole 
Bible  in  Japanese  —  the  first  to  be  put  into  proper 
clothing  and  attractive  binding.  On  December  25, 
we  find  him  getting  ready  for  his  work  in  the  Meiji 
Gaku-in,  in  which  institution  he  began  teaching 
January  10,  making  entry: 

"  I  gave  a  lecture  on  Man,  his  position  in  this  world 
and  his  relation  to  matter.  I  found  my  lecture  was 
far  above  the  comprehension  of  my  class,  who  are 
sophomores.    So  I  must  come  to  using  a  simple  book." 

On  January  20,  1888,  Dr.  Hepburn  wrote: 

"Had  a  meeting  of  the  Permanent  Committee 
and  resigned  our  duties  as  a  translation  and  revising 
committee.  .  .  .  Our  work  on  the  translation  of  the 
sacred  Scriptures  is  finished.  Fifteen  years  since  the 
work  was  commenced  in  1872,  as  authorized  by  that 
convention,  though  thirteen  years  since  the  work  on 
the  New  Testament  was  actually  commenced  in  the 
committee !  I  am  the  only  member  of  that  committee 
now  in  Japan.  The  two  Doctor  Browns  resting  from 
their  work!  Drs.  Greene  and  Maclay  at  home!" 
[154  1 


UNCEASING    INDUSTRY 

On  the  next  day,  February  3,  "the  completion  of 
the  translation  of  the  Bible  into  Japanese  was  cele- 
brated in  the  Shin  Sakai  church  in  Tokyo.  Dr. 
Verbeck  and  Dr.  Cochran  and  myself  made  addresses." 
"Feb.  16,  1888.  In  bed  with  lumbago." 
Ever  in  close  contact  with  life  on  its  physical  side, 
the  Doctor  was  interested  in  the  relation  of  popula- 
tion to  food  supply,  for  he  knew  well  about  the  fre- 
quent famines  which  in  old  hermit  days  had  desolated 
Japan,  sometimes  carrying  off  over  a  million  in  a  year. 
He  noted  in  February,  1888,  that  the  annual  yield 
of  rice  in  the  empire  was  30,000,000  koku  (roughly 
75,000,000  bushels),  which  at  five  yen  per  koku 
would  yield  150,000,000  yen  (dollars  then,  now  half 
dollars).  The  area  of  the  rice  fields  was  5,850,000 
acres,  the  yield  per  acre  being  about  251^  bushels. 
In  other  words,  on  an  archipelago  fitted  by  nature 
to  support  about  eight  or  ten  millions  only,  over 
fifty  millions  of  people  must,  in  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury, find  food  and  gain  a  living.  Only  a  certain 
proportion,  say  one  tenth,  of  the  soil  of  Japan  can  be 
cultivated.  Japan  must  become  even  more  industrial 
and  maritime  in  order  to  buy  food  and  to  maintain 
her  existence.  This  problem  is  one  for  statesmen, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  over-busy  war-makers 
and  money-lenders  in  the  United  States  and  else- 
where find  reason,  in  these  facts,  for  crying  up  their 
trade  of  blood-letting,  in  order  to  make  money. 
On  March  13,  1888,  the  Doctor  wrote: 
"The  seventy- third  anniversary  of  my  birth!  I 
[155  1 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

find  my  physical  condition  gradually  deteriorating. 
I  am  now  so  full  of  rheumatic  pains  in  my  back  and 
legs,  I  have  had  to  give  up  walking,  which  I  can  now 
do  only  with  pain.  This  affects  my  spirits.  I  now 
teach  physiology  in  the  Meiji  Gaku-in  twice  a  week 
and  am  adding  references  to  the  Old  Testament. 
This,  with  my  Sunday  Bible  class,  of  forty  or  more, 
constitutes  my  work  at  present." 

On  October  17,  1888,  he  visited  the  steam  yacht 
Coronet,  on  which  were  Professor  and  Mrs.  Todd, 
the  latter  of  whom  has  written  so  charmingly  of  the 
voyage  and  scientific  results  in  her  book,  "Corona 
and  Coronet." 

In  spite  of  his  rheumatism,  which  later  became, 
as  he  wrote  on  June  18,  1888,  "gout  in  both  feet," 
the  Doctor's  journal  contains  many  records  of 
journeys  to  and  from  the  capital  and  cities,  at  which 
he  attended  meetings  of  the  synods  and  conferences 
on  affairs  of  the  Church  and  the  ever-coming  kingdom. 
The  problems  were  now  those  of  expansion  and 
success  and  of  open  doors;  not  of  discouragement  or 
patient  waiting,  as  of  old. 

In  the  statistics  for  January  19,  1884,  as  given  in 
the  meeting,  at  Dr.  Hepburn's  house,  of  the  Tract 
Society's  Committee,  there  were  then  in  Japan  eighty- 
six  Protestant  churches,  with  six  thousand  members, 
and  four  religious  papers. 

February  11,  1889,  was  a  day  of  popular  rejoicing 
throughout  all  Japan.  On  that  day,  according  to 
popular  allegation  and  official  pronouncement  and  in 
[156] 


THE    MIKADO 


UNCEASING    INDUSTRY 

Japanese  ways  of  thinking,  the  Emperor  "granted 
a  constitution  to  his  people."  In  the  idea  and 
idiom  of  the  continent  of  America,  and  in  simple 
fact,  nearly  two  centuries  of  thought  and  over  twenty- 
one  years  of  intense  political  agitation  had  resulted 
in  the  thinking  men  of  Japan's  obtaining  a  form  of 
government  better  fitted  to  the  age  and  condition  of 
the  country.  The  happy  event  was  overclouded  by 
the  brutal  assassination  of  the  Minister  of  Education, 
Arinori  Mori,  by  one  of  those  murderers  who  have 
been  vastly  too  numerous  in  the  country.  Their 
breed  is  even  yet  perpetuated  by  popular  admiration 
—  whereas,  the  type  ought  long  since  to  have  been 
removed  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

On  February  13,  1889,  the  Doctor  noted  the  be- 
ginning of  his  Bible  dictionary. 

Perhaps  the  Kterary  work  which  Dr.  Hepburn' 
most  enjoyed  personally  and  at  which  he  wrought 
with  minutely  loving  care,  was  this  Bible  dictionary 
in  Japanese,  which  he  brought  out  in  1891.  Know- 
ing that  the  heavenly  treasure  of  divine  revelation 
was  embedded  in  earthen  vessels  that  were  odd,  queer 
and  strange,  to  the  Japanese,  he  longed  to  furnish 
to  them  as  many  as  possible  of  the  side  lights  of 
information,  and  true  reflections  of  their  own  manners 
and  customs;  that  is,  the  "Orientalisms,"  which 
enabled  them  to  understand  the  message  and  the 
meaning  of  incidents  and  action  recorded  in  the 
sacred  text.  With  this  book  in  his  hand,  the  native 
Christian  elder,  church  officer,  teacher,  or  the  Bible 
[157] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

reader,  has  had  his  way  into  the  minds  of  those 
whom  he  desired  to  benefit,  made  smoother.  To 
■  translate  the  Bible  into  Japanese  was  Hke  building 
a  road  through  the  national  intellect.  While  the 
blasting  of  the  rocks,  the  leveling  of  the  forest,  the 
filling  up  of  the  swamps,  and  the  making  of  levels 
and  gradients  were  all  important,  yet  the  building  of 
bridges,  switches,  stations  and  signals  were  scarcely 
less  necessary  for  actual  use  and  benefit.  And  in 
this,  as  in  so  many  other  things,  Dr.  Hepburn  was 
a  pioneer,  and  his  work  is  of  unique  value.  "Mis- 
sionary Efiiciency"  —  a  vital  topic  nowadays  — 
reached  almost  its  acme  in  him. 

Notices  of  the  passing  away  of  "old-time  student 
volunteers,"  comrades  and  friends  who  had  been  with 
him  in  the  mission  field,  or  of  whom  he  had  known 
well,  became  painfully  numerous  as  the  years  ad- 
vanced. Noticeable  was  the  decease  of  D.  B.  Sim- 
mons, M.D.,  on  February  19,  1889.  This  fellow 
brother  in  science  and  the  art  of  healing  had  come  out 
as  medical  missionary  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
1859.  After  severing  his  connection  with  the  Board, 
he  entered  the  medical  service  of  the  Japanese, 
organized  hospitals  and  made  a  noble  record  in 
Japan's  great  army  of  the  Yatoi  (or  salaried  helpers). 

"Feb.  16,  1884.  Dr.  S.  Wells  WilHams  died  this 
evening  in  New  Haven  at  8 :  40.  I  first  met 
him  in  Macao  in  1843,  June  9.  We  have  lived 
together,  corresponded,  and  often  met  since  that 
day.  Had  a  warm  love  for  each  other.  He  was  a 
[1581 


UNCEASING    INDUSTRY 

true  friend,  a  joyous  Christian  and  lover  of  Christ's 
kingdom.  Bom  in  Utica,  September  22,  1812,  he 
came  to  China  October  25,  1833."  Dr.  Williams' 
book  ''The  Middle  Kingdom"  is  even  yet,  all  things 
considered,  the  best  all-round  work  on  China. 

"Oct.  I,  1884.  Went  to  Tokyo  to  a  dinner 
given  by  the  Tokyo  Medical  Society.  Some  seventy 
doctors  sat  down  to  dinner.  Heard  several  very 
animated  speeches  from  Japanese  and  others.  This 
is  one  of  the  evidences  of  the  wonderful  advance 
made  by  this  nation.  How  little  I  thought,  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  that  I  should  see  such  a  sight  in  my 
day." 

In  1892  after  thirty-three  years  of  loving  service,  ^>( 
Dr.  Hepburn,  the  Christ-filled  pilgrim,  retired  from 
active  toil,  to  spend  his  remaining  days  in  his  native 
land.  "But,"  a  writer  in  the  Japan  "Evangelist" 
said,  "he  left  upon  many  Japanese,  some  of 
whom  are  statesmen  of  high  position  to-day,  im- 
pressions for  good  that  will  never  die.  He  was 
larger  than  his  great  church,  larger  than  any  one 
denomination  —  he  belonged  to  us  all.  It  was  not 
his  books  that  made  us  love  him,  though  these  are 
indispensable ;  not  his  gift  of  healing,  though  we  thank 
him  for  that;  not  the  churches  or  halls,  though  these 
be  useful;  it  is  the  large,  symmetrical  Christian  man 
that  we  admired  and  loved."  ^ 


[159 


XVI 
THE   COMPLETED   BIBLE   IN  JAPANESE 

TWO  documents  of  supreme  importance  to  Japan, 
closely  related  to  each  other,  both  completed 
and  given  to  the  world  in  the  month  of  Febru- 
ary, the  one  in  1888  and  the  other  in  1889,  were  the 
Bible  in  Japanese  and  the  National  Constitution. 
Both  were  promulgated  and  celebrated  in  Tokyo, 
the  capital.  In  a  very  real  sense,  and  in  very  close 
relation  to  each  other,  both  had  much  their  same 
time  of  secret  growth  —  "first  the  blade,  then  the 
ear,  then  the  full  grain  in  the  ear."  At  many 
points  the  evolution  of  the  Japanese  Bible  and 
the  Constitution  of  Japan  was  parallel.  It  would 
be  hard  to  imagine  one  without  the  other,  when  the 
details  of  time,  within  the  dates  1853  and  1889,  are 
kept  in  mind.  Along  with  the  intense  political 
struggle  went  the  quiet,  but  none  the  less  earnest 
labors  of  the  study. 

On  February  3,  1888,  the  church  in  Tokyo  near 
the  Shin  Sakai  Bashi,  that  is,  the  new  Sakai  Bridge 
over  the  Sumida  River,  in  the  foreign  quarter  called 
Tsukiji  (filled  up,  or  made  land),  the  largest  Protes- 
tant place  of  worship  in  the  capital,  was  filled  to  the 
[160] 


THE    BIBLE    IN    JAPANESE 

utmost  capacity  by  an  audience  consisting  of  aliens 
and  natives,  but  all  bound  together  with  the  same 
ties  of  interest  and  expectation. 

The  Japanese  and  English  Bibles  lay  on  the 
speaker's  desk  —  fit  emblem  of  the  true  accord  that 
—  it  is  to  be  hoped  —  will  ever  be  maintained 
between  the  Japanese  and  English-speaking  people. 
One  set  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  handsomely  bound 
and  in  five  volumes,  had  been  presented  on  Decem- 
ber 31,  1887,  to  Dr.  Hepburn  by  the  National  Bible 
Society  of  Scotland.  Representatives  of  fourteen 
American  and  EngUsh  missionary  societies  and  of 
the  native  Protestant  churches  in  the  capital  were 
present.  Dr.  Hepburn,  having  completed  sixteen 
years  of  labor  in  translation,  was  in  the  chair. 

The  exercises  were  opened  by  the  venerable  Bishop 
Williams  of  the  American  Episcopal  Church,  one  of 
the  first  missionaries  on  the  ground,  in  1859,  who 
read  the  Nineteenth  Psalm  in  EngHsh,  and  this  was 
also  read  by  Rev.  (afterwards  Bishop)  Y.  Honda  of 
the  Methodist  Church  of  Japan.  After  prayer  by  Rev. 
James  Williams,  of  the  EngHsh  Church  Missionary 
Society,  a  short  address  was  made  by  Rev.  J.  T.  Ise 
(afterwards  Yokoi),  a  Congregational  pastor.  Rev. 
Messrs.  Inagaki  and  Okuno  also  took  part. 

Dr.  Hepburn,  as  chairman  of  the  Permanent  Com- 
mittee appointed  in  1878  to  translate  and  pubhsh  the 
Bible  in  Japanese,  then  gave  in  detail  and  at  length 
a  history  of  the  work  done.  After  naming  his  foreign 
helpers,  he  paid  a  warm  tribute  to  liis  daily  com- 
11611 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

panions  in  study,  Rev.  Matsuyama  and  Mr.  Tak- 
ahashi  Goro.  Both  these  Christian  gentlemen, 
accomplished  scholars  in  their  own  language,  sat 
with  the  Yokohama  Committee  during  the  six  years 
or  more  of  work  upon  the  New  Testament.  They 
thus  received  a  training  which  made  them  such  effi- 
cient workers  in  translating  the  Old  Testament, 
enabling  the  committee  to  attain  uniformity  and 
agreement  in  the  style  and  character  of  the  whole 
book,  quite  equal  to  that  of  the  Revised  Version  in 
English. 

He  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  new  Japa- 
nese Bible  is  in  the  pure  native  and  simple  style  easily 
understood  by  the  most  unlearned.  Being  so  chaste 
and  free  from  Chinese  and  foreign  terms,  and  read 
by  millions  of  its  people,  it  will  have  a  powerful  influ- 
ence in  preserving  the  native  tongue  in  its  purity. 
Undoubtedly  it  will  do  for  the  Japanese  language 
much  of  what  has  been  done  for  the  tongue  of  Eng- 
land by  the  pure  Anglo-Saxon  of  the  English  Bible. 

Then  he  explained  in  some  detail  the  method 
pursued  by  the  revisers: 

''Throughout  the  whole  work  the  committee  en- 
deavored to  adhere  faithfully  and  as  literally  as  pos- 
sible to  the  Hebrew  original,  desiring  not  only  to 
give  its  true  meaning,  but  also  to  retain  the  beauti- 
ful and  instructive  figurative  language  in  which  God 
has  conveyed  his  mind  to  the  children  of  men."  All 
scholarly  aids  possible  were  made  use  of,  compari- 
son being  constantly  made  with  the  Revised  Version 
[162] 


THE    BJBLE    IN    JAPANESE 

of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  English.  "They  have  had 
no  particular  difficulty  in  their  work,  except  it  be 
in  finding  satisfactory  equivalents  for  some  of  the 
animals,  birds,  insects,  trees,  flowers  and  precious 
stones  mentioned  in  the  Bible;  but  they  trust  that 
in  these  respects  also,  they  have  attained  to  the  true 
meaning  as  nearly  as  most  of  the  modern  versions. 
Instead  of  translating  the  names  of  the  Hebrew 
weights,  measures  and  months,  the  Hebrew  terms 
were  transferred  into  Japanese  kana. 

"And  now,  my  Christian  brethren,  it  only  re- 
mains for  me  to  take  this  translation  of  the  Old 
Testament,  the  work  of  the  Permanent  Committee, 
united  with  the  translation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, the  work  of  the  Yokohama  Committee,  and 
make  it  into  one  Bible,  in  the  name  of  the  whole 
body  of  Protestant  missionaries  in  Japan,  and  I 
may  say  of  the  whole  Church  of  Christ  in  America 
and  England,  and  offer  it  as  a  loving  present  to  the 
Japanese  nation." 

Suiting  the  action  to  the  word.  Dr.  Hepburn  took 
the  copy  of  the  Old  Testament  in  one  hand  and  the 
copy  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  other,  and,  rev- 
erently placing  them  together,  laid  the  book  —  a 
complete  Bible  —  upon  the  desk.  The  audience 
was  visibly  moved  at  this  simple  but  significant 
action. 

His  closing  sentences,  eloquent,  and  spoken  with\ 
deep  feeling,   carried  the  conviction  of  the  speaker 
to  other  minds.     "What  more  precious  gift  —  more 
[163] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

precious  than  mountains  of  silver  and  gold  —  could 
the  Christian  people  of  the  West  bestow  on  the  people 
of  this  land?  May  the  sacred  Book  be  to  the 
Japanese  what  it  has  been  to  the  people  of  the  West,  a 
fountain  of  life,  a  messenger  of  joy  and  peace,  the 
foundation  of  a  true  civilization,  of  social  and  political 
prosperity  and  greatness.  May  it  be  to  them  like 
the  river,  which  Ezekiel  saw  proceeding  out  from  the 
throne  of  God,  which,  wherever  it  flowed,  brought 
life  and  healing.  And  shall  we  not  now  call  upon 
our  souls  and  all  that  is  within  us  to  thank  our  God 
and  Father  for  this,  his  wonderful  gift  to  the  chil- 
dren of  men,  that  in  his  loving-kindness  he  has  sent 
it  to  this  people?" 

Dr.  Guido  F.  Verbeck  then  spoke  in  Japanese, 
reproducing  in  substance  what  Dr.  Hepburn  had 
said. 

Rev.  George  Cochran,  D.D.,  the  eloquent  Cana- 
dian, then  gave  a  scholarly  address,  outlining  the  work 
of  translation  and  the  dispersion  of  the  Scriptures 
throughout  the  world,  briefly  glancing  at  the  Septua- 
gint,  the  Syriac,  Latin,  Coptic,  Gothic,  Saxon  and 
other  versions.  These  seemed  to  spread  and  perpet- 
uate the  knowledge  of  the  truth  during  the  paralysis 
of  progress  and  the  eclipse  of  faith  that  fell  upon 
the  Church  in  the  medieval  night  of  Christendom. 
He  dwelt  upon  the  thrill  of  life  and  the  era  of  evangel- 
ism which  sprang  from  the  translations  of  the  Bible 
into  the  vernacular,  and  how  the  Bible  had  become 
the  people's  book.  He  rejoiced  in  the  organization 
[164  1 


THE    BIBLE    IN    JAPANESE 

of  the  Bible  societies  of  Christendom,  "that  like  twin 
sisters,  fellow  handmaids  waiting  upon  our  Lord, 
shall  not  rest  nor  be  discouraged  until  the  Word  of 
life  is  in  the  hand  of  every  creature  upon  earth.  .  .  . 
In  this,  the  highest  ministry  of  man's  good  will,  the 
EngUsh-speaking  people  of  Britain  and  America 
unite  their  strength."  He  glanced  at  India  and 
China,  and  then  spoke  of  Japan  —  "at  peace  with 
all  the  world,  appropriating  by  the  swift  and  ready 
adaptation  to  the  genius  of  her  people,  the  material 
and  intellectual  civilization  of  the  West."  The 
plowshare  of  evolution  had  freshly  turned  up  gen- 
erous soil.  "By  the  open  furrows  gathered  quickly 
a  numerous  band  of  gospel  husbandmen  waiting 
ready  to  cast  in  the  imperishable  seed.  The  trans- 
lator should  put  into  the  hand  of  these  husbandmen 
the  seed  basket  full,  replenished  for  all  time;  now 
the  laborers  may  broadcast  the  seed,  the  Word  of 
God,  wherever  they  will,  and  it  shall  surely  grow. 
...  Its  principles  of  holy  truth  and  love  shall  weave 
themselves  into  the  thought  and  speech  and  Hfe  of 
each  successive  generation.  They  shall  enter  into 
the  new  Imperial  Constitution,  into  the  laws  and 
customs  of  the  land,  and  by  virtue  of  their  healing, 
quickening  power,  the  ancient  empire  shall  put  on 
moral  strength  and  may  endure  with  vigor  till  the 
last  courses  of  the  sun." 

After    this   eloquent   apostrophe,    closing   with    a 
brilliant  prophecy — a  Christian  Banzai — there  was 
a  brief  address  by  Mr.  Inagaki,  pastor  of  the  first 
[165  1 


HEPBURN    OF  JAPAN 

(Kaigan)  church  formed  in  Japan.  Then  the  vener- 
able Okuno  offered  the  closing  prayer.  The  final, 
apostolical  word  of  blessing  was  by  Rev.  JuHus  Soper 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

It  was  a  high  and  glorious  day,  long  to  be  remem- 
bered and  auspicious  for  the  good  of  "millions  yet  to 
be,"  as  well  as  to  those  then  living.  Not  least,  in 
beauty  and  charm  as  well  as  in  cheer  and  promise, 
was  the  presence  of  a  choir  of  Christian  girls  and 
women  from  the  Japanese  churches  of  the  capital. 
Some  remembered  how  Townsend  Harris  in  1857 
had  held,  with  his  secretary,  Mr.  Heusken,  the  first 
Christian  worship  in  Yedo  and  they  recalled  his 
favorite  Scripture  —  "What  hath  God  wrought!" 

No  history  of  Bible  translation  in  Japan  can  even 
approach  completion  that  omits  the  name  of  a  true 
yoke-fellow  with  Dr.  Hepburn,  Rev.  Nathan  Brown, 
D.D.,  whom  I  knew  well  and  honored  highly.  Both 
were  veterans  who  had  passed  through  many 
perils. 

It-  was  good  to  see  the  two  old  men  together.  The 
latter  lived  thirty-four  years  in  Asia,  and  was  for 
seventy  years  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church.  He 
translated  the  entire  New  Testament  and  portions 
of  the  Old  Testament  into  two  languages  as  differ- 
ent as  the  Assamese  and  Japanese.  His  hymns  are 
sung  in  English,  Assamese,  Burmese  and  Japanese. 
He  filled  the  positions  of  teacher,  editor,  preacher, 
naturalist  and  translator,  besides  making  abundant 
antiquarian  and  philological  research,  passing  un- 
[1661 


THE    BIBLE    IN    JAPANESE 

scathed  through  innumerable  perils.  When  he  died 
his  body  was  carried  to  burial  —  at  his  own  request 
—  by  devout  natives  of  Japan,  and  on  his  tombstone 
was  engraved,  beside  name  and  date,  the  prayer, 
"God  bless  the  Japanese." 


167 


XVII 
A  SAMURAI  OF  JESUS 

HOW  God  raises  up  particular  men  to  do  spe- 
cial work  is  strikingly  illustrated  in  the 
case  of  Rev.  Okuno  Masatusuna,  who  gave 
Dr.  Hepburn  such  valuable  assistance  in  his  work  of 
translation.  In  the  making  of  this,  his  child,  the 
almighty  Father  produced  a  masterpiece.  In  superb 
physical  and  intellectual  balance,  equipped  with  all 
the  learning  of  Japan,  a  scholar  in  Shinto,  Buddhism, 
and  the  Confucian  classics  and  philosophy,  critically 
versed  in  all  the  forms  of  the  language,  withal  a  superb 
penman,  Okuno  was  just  the  helper  that  Dr.  Hep- 
bum  had  long  been  seeking.  Introduced  to  the 
great  translator  in  the  spring  of  1871,  Okuno  by 
degrees  communicated  to  his  American  friend  his 
remarkable  personal  history.  The  story  of  his  life 
opens  a  window  into  the  life  of  Old  Japan. 

Okuno  was  a  samurai  of  the  samurai.  He  was  born 
in  Yedo  in  1822.  When  he  was  five  years  old,  his 
mother  died.  On  account  of  his  unyielding  spirit,  he 
was  disliked  by  his  stepmother.  He  left  his  home  to 
live  at  one  of  the  Buddhist  temples  in  Uyeno.  His 
threefold  training  was  that  of  the  Buddhist  neophyte, 
[1681 


A    SAMURAI    OF    JESUS 

the  man  at  arms,  and  the  Confucian  scholar.  He 
studied  Buddhism  thoroughly,  learning  all  about 
its  sects  and  its  doctrinal  evolutions,  but  he  had  little 
faith  in  the  alleged  truth  of  its  dogmas.  Giving 
himself  to  the  Chinese  classics,  he  became  a  master 
of  the  philosophy  of  China,  and  the  doctrines  of 
Confucius,  whether  in  their  original  form;  or,  in 
their  restatement,  in  the  twelfth  century,  by  Chu 
Hi;  or,  in  that  phase  which  re-created  the  mind  of 
Japan  and  in  which  the  leaders  of  the  revolution  of 
1868  were  trained,  the  Oyomei  so  named  after  a 
Chinese  sage  and  general. 

Okuno's  physical  training  was  thorough.  He 
became  so  skillful  in  the  art  of  fencing  and  in  spear 
exercise,  that  at  eighteen,  he  passed  a  successful 
examination  in  military  science  and  was  given  a  spe- 
cial reward  by  his  master.  He  was  highly  accom- 
plished also  in  the  use  of  the  gentler  arts,  such  as 
jiujitsu,  or  self-defense  without  weapons.  In  music, 
he  excelled  in  playing  the  flute,  so  that  he  was  often 
in  demand  at  the  theater  and  social  entertainments. 
His  desire  was  ever  to  excel,  but  at  twenty-four  he 
was  prostrated  on  account  of  his  intense  applica- 
tion to  study;  so  that  his  father  took  all  his  books 
away  from  him.  He,  however,  secretly  managed  to 
possess  himself  of  them  again  and  spent  many  hours 
in  reading.  His  bold  and  chivalrous  spirit  made  him 
a  candidate  for  offices  of  responsibility,  but  these 
brought  him  among  wicked  and  dissipated  compan- 
ions, and  he  became  a  leader  in  sinful  indulgences. 
[1691 


HEPBURN    OF  JAPAN 

When  the  southwestern  clans  made  a  combination 
against  the  Bakufu,  or  shogun's  government  in  Yedo, 
civil  war  began,  lasting,  off  and  on,  four  or  five  years, 
from  1863  to  1868.  Okuno  was  in  several  battles 
and  did  valiant  service,  but,  when  the  Yedo  army 
was  irretrievably  beaten,  he  took  refuge  on  board 
of  a  man-of-war,  once  being  nearly  captured  by  one 
of  the  imperial  warships.  Seeing  no  hope  at  sea,  he 
fled  to  Shidzuoka  and  there  became  a  page  to  the 
Prince  Rinnoji,  who  had  for  a  time,  in  1868,  been 
set  up  by  interested  followers  as  a  pretender  to  the 
throne.  He  also  acted  as  a  messenger  of  the  shogun 
Keiki,  who  was  an  exile  in  this  "Saint  Helena  of 
Tokugawaism."  When  the  new  Imperial  Govern- 
ment was  established,  Okuno  was  in  utter  despair, 
for  all  hope  of  reestablishing  the  old  regime  had  to 
be  given  up.  He  offered  himself  a  vicarious  sacrifice 
and  was  willing  to  die  for  his  master.  He  petitioned 
the  Imperial  Government  thus:  "Let  us  endure  the 
penalty,  and  let  our  master  go  free."  No  notice  was 
taken  of  this  prayer.  Although  not  molested,  Okuno 
was  in  extreme  distress,  having  no  means  of  support. 

It  was  when  meditating  upon  dying  for  his  master, 
that  he  was  met  by  a  priest  —  evidently  in  want  of 
money  —  who  persuaded  him  to  make  special  gifts 
for  the  restoration  of  his  master  to  power.  So  Okuno 
wrote  out  a  petition  and  laid  it  before  the  golden  idols, 
of  which  Japan  has  even  yet  an  immeasurable  forest. 
Of  its  population  in  wood,  stone  and  metal,  gilded, 
lacquered,  green  with  patina  or  polished  by  hands  of 
fl70l 


A    SAMURAI    OF    JESUS 

prayer,  no  census  has  ever  been  taken,  while  thou- 
sands of  persons  still  gain  a  living  by  carving  these 
effigies,  or  by  duping  their  devotees.  From  this 
time  forth,  Okuno  gave  himself  to  rigors  which  ema- 
ciated his  body  and  saddened  his  soul.  He  fasted 
days  at  a  time,  bathed  in  ice-cold  water  every  morn- 
ing for  many  months,  ate  no  rice,  but  only  potatoes 
and  buckwheat;  and  sat  for  long,  dreary  hours  on 
coarse  straw  mats,  keeping  vigil  and  reciting  prayers 
from  the  sacred  books.  All  these  were  of  no  avail. 
Then  he  complained  to  the  priest,  who  told  him  he 
must  try  some  other  way.  If  he  would  visit  a  great 
number  of  temples  and  make  offering  at  each  to  Inari, 
the  god  of  rice,  his  petitions  for  peace  and  prosper- 
ity would  be  granted. 

So  setting  out  on  foot,  this  passionate  pilgrim  vis- 
ited in  person  one  thousand  temples.  According  to 
the  report  of  his  proxies,  he  offered  prayers  also  at 
no  fewer  than  fifteen  thousand  other  temples,  making 
sixteen  thousand  petitions;  for  all  pagans,  of  what- 
ever name,  think  that  they  are  heard  because  of  their 
much  speaking.  Now  surely,  he  thought,  his  prayers 
would  be  answered,  but  not  even  a  sign  of  having 
been  heard  was  vouchsafed.  Infuriated  at  this 
silence  on  the  part  of  the  gods,  Okuno,  the  disappointed, 
reproached  the  priest  for  his  greed  and  deception, 
knocked  over  and  trampled  on  the  images  once 
thought  sacred  and  went  back  to  his  former  habits 
of  dissipation.  He  gave  up  all  his  belief  in  deity, 
or  a  future  life.  With  health  broken,  and  without 
[171] 


HEPBURN    OF  JAPAN 

money  or  credit,  he  was  in  utter  destitution  and 
misery. 

Employment  with  Dr.  S.  R.  Brown,  whom  he 
first  served  as  a  teacher  and  scholar,  secured  him 
food.  In  time,  the  earnest  preaching  of  Rev.  J.  H. 
Ballagh  led  him  to  see  himself  as  he  was,  before  God, 
a  needy  sinner,  yet  hungering  for  pardon  and  right- 
eousness. In  July,  1872,  at  the  risk  of  his  Hfe,  and 
acting  as  bravely  as  when  loyally  fighting  in  the  fore- 
front for  his  master  on  the  bloody  field,  he  made  a 
public  confession  of  his  faith  and  was  baptized  by 
the  Rev.  S.  R.  Brown. 

His  superior  penmanship  was  greatly  admired  and 
he  prepared  the  first  edition  to  the  New  Testament, 
his  manuscript  being  produced  from  the  blocks. 
The  men  who  worked  for  him  knew  that  they  would 
be  imprisoned,  or  put  to  death,  if  spied  upon  and 
discovered. 

When  Mr.  Loomis  secured  Okuno  as  a  teacher, 
while  Dr.  Hepburn  was  in  the  United  States,  the 
American  asked  the  Japanese,  "Are  you  not  afraid 
of  being  arrested,  or  punished  for  being  a  Christian 
and  doing  Christian  work?"  Drawing  his  finger 
significantly  across  his  neck,  he  replied,  "They  may 
cut  off  my  head,  but  they  cannot  destroj^  my  soul." 
For  years,  there  hung  over  every  native  Christian 
convert,  as  by  a  silken  filament,  the  suspended  sword 
of  the  executioner.  I  felt  this  when  I  was  with  them, 
and  I  never  knew  finer  courage  even  in  our  Civil  War. 

God  raised  up  Okuno  to  be  the  first  poet  of  the 
[1721 


A    SAMURAI    OF    JESUS 

Christian  Church.  He  was  the  beginner  of  native 
hymnology.  A  literal  translation  of  the  hymn 
"Jesus  loves  me"  had  been  made,  probably  first 
by  Rev.  Jonathan  Goble.  The  assuring  sentiment, 
and  the  tune  to  which  it  was  sung,  made  it  an  instant 
favorite  with  the  Japanese  Christians,  and  its  tra- 
ditional associations  keep  it  popular  even  to  this 
day.  Nevertheless,  the  way  in  which  the  Mikado's 
vernacular  was  tortured,  to  make  some  distant 
approach  to  sense,  reminds  one  of  the  Yiddish  of 
Chatham  Street,  as  compared  with  the  classic  Hebrew 
in  Isaiah.  The  Japanese  scholars  have  made  merry 
over  this  blessed  doggerel. 

One  day  Okuno  came  to  Mr.  Loomis  with  a  roll 
of  manuscript,  saying  that  he  had  sung  that  hymn 
a  good  while,  but  never  before  understood  it.  Mr. 
Loomis  at  once  said,  "Why  not  put  it  into  rhyme  and 
meter,  so  that  the  Japanese  will  understand  it  when 
they  sing?"  Okuno,  after  several  days,  did  put  it 
into  good  language,  though  the  meter  and  style  of 
the  original  were  unknown  to  the  older  Japanese 
prosody.  A  beginning  had  been  made,  however, 
and,  encouraged  by  Mr.  Loomis,  Okuno  went  on  and 
translated  about  fifteen  more  of  the  most  familiar 
modem  Christian  songs  of  praise  to  God,  which  were 
pubHshed  with  the  title,  "Religious  Hymns." 

In  1876,  when  a  new  and  enlarged  hymnal  was 
issued,  the  Japanese  Christians  were  delighted  to 
find  that,  of  the  more  than  fifty  hymns,  several  were 
Okuno's  original  compositions. 

[173] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

No  sooner  was  Okuno  a  new  man  in  Christ  Jesus, 
than  he  began  to  tell  at  once  of  his  Saviour's  great 
love  for  those  who  were  lost  in  sin.  He  besought 
men  night  and  day  with  tears  to  become  reconciled 
to  God. 

Thus  bloomed  forth,  on  Japanese  soil,  the  consum- 
mate white  flower  of  Christian  loyalty.  Among  the 
rare  jewels  of  race  and  civilization  which  have  slowly 
grown  to  perfection  is  the  Japanese  virtue  of  loyalty. 
In  supreme  devotion,  in  utter  consecration  to  his 
master,  in  service,  through  life  and  in  death,  a  sam- 
urai's loyalty  to  his  Lord  knew  no  equal.  Like  the 
great  "No  Two  Such"  Mountain,  Fuji  San,  this 
loyalty  was  high,  serene  and  pure.  Beside  it  no 
lesser  mountain,  no  petty  hill  must  rear  its  form. 
Wife,  children,  fortune,  health,  friends,  were  as 
naught  —  but  rather  to  be  trampled  under  foot,  if 
necessary,  in  order  to  reach  that  "last  supreme  meas- 
ure of  devotion"  which  the  samurai  owed  to  his  lord. 
The  matchless  sphere  of  rock  crystal,  flawless  and 
perfect,  is  the  emblem  of  Japanese  loyalty,  which, 
by  amazing  transit  from  what  was  petty  and  local, 
to  a  single  object,  the  Emperor,  explains  the  secret 
of  the  ability  of  the  Japanese  David  to  humble  the 
Russian  Goliath.  Japanese  loyalty,  brought  to  full 
fruition,  after  a  thousand  years  of  training  in  the 
national  framework,  when  dedicated  to  Jesus,  cre- 
ates under  the  Holy  Spirit's  promptings  as  noble 
specimens  of  glorious  manhood  as  this  earth  or 
known  human  history  has  ever  seen.  I  lived  under 
[1741 


A    SAMURAI    OF    JESUS 

the  feudal  system  in  Old  Japan  and  knew  the  first 
Christian  samurai,  and  I  testify  to  what  I  have 
seen. 

Such  a  consummate  spirit  was  Okuno.  He  was  a 
preacher  of  rare  and  winning  power.  When  I  first 
heard  him  —  being  able,  after  a  year's  exile  in  the 
interior,  to  understand  most  of  his  discourse  —  he 
seemed  to  me  an  incarnate  day  of  Pentecost.  Preach- 
ing on  the  Prodigal  Son,  to  his  rapt  countrymen,  and 
using  a  language  which  aliens  had  declared  unfitted 
by  its  crass  earthiness  to  hold  the  heavenly  treasure, 
he  marked  a  distinct  epoch  in  the  history  of  Japan. 
I  listened  to  torrents  of  eloquence.  I  was  led  into 
vast  chambers  of  imagery.  I  was  melted  by  tender- 
ness of  appeal,  that  bore  me  in  imagination  to  angelic 
realms,  until  I  felt  no  longer  on  earth,  but  amid  the 
choirs  of  heaven. 

Okuno's  heart  was  set  upon  giving  to  his  people  a 
knowledge  of  the  true  God,  and  he  was  never  satis- 
fied to  allow  surcease  to  his  labors,  until  he  had  toured 
in  almost  every  province  in  the  empire,  preaching 
the  good  news  of  God.  Then  the  failure  of  his  bod- 
ily strength  compelled  him  to  halt. 

He  was  never  content  with  repeating  old  discourses 
or  resting  on  laurels  already  won,  but  was  always 
in  quest  of  fresh  seed  thought.  When  a  missionary 
suggested  to  him  some  appropriate  text,  told  some 
telling  illustration,  or  uttered  a  kindling  thought, 
Okuno's  joy  was  like  that  of  a  child  at  receiving  a 
gift.  Then  his  face  beamed  with  joy  that  made 
[175] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

one,  on  seeing  it,  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the 
soul.    To  preach  Christ  was  his  greatest  delight. 

For  years,  as  translator,  he  devoted  himself  body 
and  soul  to  the  joyful  work.  Then  he  became  pastor 
of  Christian  churches  at  Yokosuka,  living  under  the 
shadow  of  Will  Adams'  grave,  and  at  Osaka,  and 
other  places.  On  special  occasions,  he  was  in  demand, 
his  addresses  beintg  strikingly  happy  and  often  elo- 
quent. He  started  on  his  third  and  final  evangelis- 
tic tour  in  southern  Japan,  April  4,  1903.  As  he  grew 
older,  he  seemed  to  be  more  active.  At  seventy,  he 
was  so  full  of  fire  and  energy  that  he  wanted  to  go 
over  all  Japan  again  to  preach,  but  he  had  to  give  up 
the  idea.  It  was  estimated  that  he  had  already 
preached  over  four  thousand  sermons  and  was  in 
every  way  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  great  leaders 
in  the  conquest  of  Japan  for  that  Master  before 
whom  all  other  masters  are  to  be  put  as  names  and 
shadows. 

In  later  years,  "Father  Okuno"  was  his  title,  for, 
as  has  been  well  said,  "While  exceptional  intellectual 
abilities  will  command  regard  during  youth,  it  is 
only  exceptional  spiritual  attainment  that  will  com- 
mand regard  when  one  has  become  advanced  in 
years,"  and  Okuno  won  all  hearts  by  his  humility 
and  piety. 


176] 


XVIII 
THE  STORY  OF  THE  CHURCHES 

WHILE  in  Japan,  during  the  war  between 
the  States  in  America,  Dr.  Hepburn 
was  truly  loyal  both  to  the  government 
and  to  the  Northern  Church,  under  both  of  which  he 
had  been  born  and  nurtured.  It  was  during  the  first 
half  of  this  period  of  anxiety  that  Americans  abroad 
felt  as  though  they  had  no  country,  for  our  commerce 
had  been  swept  off  the  seas,  and  letters  home  had  to 
be  sent  by  way  of  Great  Britain.  Rev.  Leighton 
Wilson,  secretary  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian 
Board,  had  importuned  him  to  represent  them  in 
China  —  and  the  Doctor  had  a  southern  wife;  but 
in  this  matter,  as  in  other  subjects,  he  was  very  quiet 
and  firm  in  his  convictions.  At  the  outset,  he  was 
hardly  reconciled,  as  we  shall  see,  even  to  the  union 
of  the  Reformed  and  Presbyterian  mission  in  a  single 
organization. 

It  is  now  time  to  tell  of  the  growth  of  the  native 
Christian  community  into  a  church.  Rev.  James 
H.  Ballagh,  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America,  and 
the  first  young  missionary  in  Japan,  had  arrived  at 
Yokohama,  November  7,  1861.  He  had  rapidly 
f  1771 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

gained  mastery  of  the  colloquial,  so  that  "the  com- 
mon people  heard  him  gladly."  He  excelled  as  a 
preacher,  and  won  converts.  He  was  the  first  pas- 
tor in  eastern  Japan,  and  he  built  a  small  stone 
chapel  on  the  lot  secured  by  the  missionaries  — 
about  which  hangs  many  a  tale. 

Much  difficulty  was  experienced  in  getting  a  title 
to  land  in  the  new  settlement  (while  Kanagawa  was 
still  technically  by  treaty  the  real  place  promised 
by  the  Japanese),  and  the  matter  was  delayed  until 
1864,  when  the  deed  was  obtained  and  transferred 
to  the  Missionary  Board.  In  the  great  fire  of  Novem- 
ber 25,  1866,  the  lot  in  question  was  swept  by  the 
flames.  Then,  in  order  to  hold  it  as  church  property, 
Mr.  Ballagh  erected  a  little  edifice,  often  called  "the 
first  church  in  Japan,"  which  is  now  a  chapel  attached 
to  the  Kaigan  church  which,  in  191 1,  celebrated  the 
jubilee  of  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Ballagh,  who  still,  in  1913, 
toils  on,  though  over  eighty  years  of  age.  It  was 
a  small  building  of  stone,  pretty  enough  in  its  way, 
but  it  gave  the  ungodly,  the  joke-makers,  the  "globe 
trotters,"  the  thoughtless,  and  especially  the  mali- 
cious Hers  in  wait  for  scandal,  their  opportunity.  A 
petty  war  of  jibes  and  caricatures  began.  Even  sal- 
aried officers  of  the  U.  S.  Government  took  it  upon 
themselves  to  photograph  the  pygmy  building  in 
juxtaposition  with  one  much  larger,  that  it  might 
stand  as  a  dwarf  beside  a  mighty  architectural  giant, 
of  which  the  next  paragraph  tells. 

While  Mr.  Ballagh  was  in  America,  the  Rev. 
11781 


STORY    OF    THE    CHURCHES 

David  Thompson  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  North, 
who  arrived  May  i8,  1863,  and  who  held  the  power 
of  attorney,  arranged  for  a  handsome  two-story 
dweUing  house  to  be  built  for  Messrs.  Burgess  and 
Burdick  on  the  lot  adjoining.  This  was  rented  for 
several  years,  and  afterwards  was  bought,  for  only 
two  thousand  dollars,  because  of  value  received  in 
the  way  of  rent,  and  duly  transferred  to  the  Mission 
Board.  The  photographers  and  jokesmiths  became 
even  more  industrious  and  disseminated  their  funny 
pictures  over  the  world.  Under  the  large  and  hand- 
some building  was  inscribed  "Mr.  Ballagh's  residence, 
$4,000";  while  over  the  little  chapel  was  the  legend 
"Of  the  few  remaining  bricks,  for  the  Lord,  $600." 

The  facts  were  afterwards  investigated  by  the 
United  States  authorities  and  the  official  person 
chiefly  responsible  for  the  libel  was  superseded. 
Students  of  missionary  history  know  that  a  similar 
story  —  the  egg  of  the  fowl  hatched  in  Japan  — 
started  in  India,  probably  before  Mr.  Ballagh  was 
bom,  and  began  an  eastward  journey,  doing  service 
at  Calcutta,  Singapore,  Shanghai,  and  other  places 
before  reaching  the  Mikado's  empire.  "Nothing 
travels  faster  than  a  lively  story."  Mark  Twain 
said  that  there  were  only  twenty-three  original 
jokes. 

On  November  5,   1865,  Dr.  Hepburn  wrote:    "I 

accompanied    Rev.    James    Ballagh,    who    baptized 

Mr.  Yano  Riuzan,  who  had  been  a  teacher  of  Rev. 

S.  R.  Brown.     He  was  the  first  convert  to  the  gospel 

[179] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

in  eastern  Japan."  Others  were  won  to  the  Master 
through  the  preaching  and  teaching,  and  on  March 
lo,  1872,  the  first  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan  was 
formed,  with  eleven  members.  This  Yokohama 
church  was  without  the  name  of,  or  connection  with, 
any  denomination. 

For  the  large  edifice  of  this  "Kaigan"  or  Seashore 
Church,  Hon.  Townsend  Harris,  the  United  States 
Minister,  contributed  $1,000;  an  Enghsh  merchant 
and  the  Sandwich  Island  Christians,  $1,000;  Hon. 
Robert  H.  Pruyn,  Mr,  Harris'  successor,  $500.  Mr. 
Ballagh  collected  $2,500  in  America.  The  structure, 
occupying  part  of  the  Perry  Treaty  ground  of  1854, 
was  dedicated  July  10,  1875.  It  is  still  standing 
(19 1 3),  the  church  having  more  than  four  hundred 
members. 

The  Union  Church,  made  up  of  foreign  residents 
and  now  flourishing,  with  a  settled  pastor,  had  also 
a  history  through  evolution. 

When  conducting  public  worship  in  the  early 
sixties,  as  so  many  English  people  were  present.  Dr. 
S.  R.  Brown  officiated  according  to  the  forms  of  the 
Church  of  England,  until,  in  July,  1862,  Mr.  Bailey, 
English  chaplain,  arrived.  In  February,  1863,  sev- 
eral gentlemen,  who  preferred  a  simpler  form  of 
divine  service,  met  at  the  house  of  the  United  States 
consul  at  Kanawaga,  and  effected  an  organization 
in  connection  with  the  (Dutch)  Reformed  Church 
in  America  —  which  enjoys  also  the  honor  of  having 
the  first  fully  organized  Protestant  church  on  the 
[1801 


UNION  CHURCH  AT  YOKOHAMA 

Orscuiized  iS6S 


STORY    OF    THE    CHURCHES 

continent  of  America,  the  date  of  the  organization 
being  1628.  This  Union  congregation  in  Yokohama 
worshiped  first  in  the  Masonic  lodge  room  and  later 
in  Dr.  Hepburn's  dispensary,  until  1868,  when  the 
present  Union  Church  was  organized. 

Rev.  C.  Carrothers  and  his  wife,  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  North,  and  Rev.  O.  M.  Greene  arrived 
in  Japan  in  1869  and  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cornes  and 
Rev.  David  Thompson  established  a  station  in  Tokyo. 
Rev.  Henry  and  Mrs.  Loomis  and  Rev.  E.  Rothesay 
Miller  joined  the  mission  in  1872,  in  which  year  also 
the  Woman's  societies  entered  the  field,  represented 
by  the  Misses  Youngman  and  Gamble.  In  1873 
two  native  churches  were  formed,  one  at  the  port 
and  the  other  in  the  capital;  that  in  Tokyo  being 
organized  on  September  25,  1873. 

On  December  30,  1873,  the  six  Presbyterian  breth- 
ren, by  order  of  the  General  Assembly,  formed  a  pres- 
bytery and  organized  a  church;  but  against  this, 
David  Thompson  of  the  same  mission  and  Mr.  Bal- 
lagh  of  the  Reformed  Church  remonstrated.  To 
them,  Dr.  Hepburn  repKed,  "It  is  impossible  on  earth 
for  a  church  union;  it  might  be  in  heaven."  Thus 
matters  went  on,  the  church  in  Tsukiji,  Tokyo,  with 
Dr.  Thompson,  and  the  Kaigan  church  in  Yokohama, 
with  Mr.  Ballagh,  forming  The  Church  of  Christ  in 
Japan,  while  the  native  church,  with  Messrs.  Car- 
rothers and  Greene,  was  known  as  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  This  continued  till  the  arrival,  in  1875,  ^^ 
Rev.  William  Imbrie  to  join  the  Presbyterian  Mission, 
[1811 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

as  his  cousin,  Rev.  E.  R.  Miller,  had  done  two  or 
three  years  before  him.  Mr.  Miller,  seeing  the  trend 
of  things,  and  having  married  Miss  M.  E.  Kidder 
of  the  Reformed  Mission,  by  consent  of  his  Board 
transferred  his  connection  to  the  Reformed  Church 
Mission.  Dr.  Thompson  had  also  resigned  from 
his  mission,  and  had  accepted  the  position  of  inter- 
preter to  the  American  Legation,  though  carrying 
on  his  pastoral  work  with  the  Tsukiji  church  and 
aiding  it  financially.  In  1877,  all  the  churches  hold- 
ing to  the  order  of  government  by  elders,  or  the 
Presbyterian  and  Reformed  Church,  united  in  one 
federation  or  union  under  the  name  of  the  United 
Church  of  Christ  in  Japan.  In  1890  they  dropped 
the  word  "united"  and  adopted  as  their  Confession 
of  Faith  the  Apostles'  Creed,  with  a  simple  doc- 
trinal preface. 


182 


XIX 

TWO  NOBLE  MONUMENTS 

DURING  the  year  1872  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hepburn 
made  a  voyage  home  by  way  of  the  Suez 
canal.  While  in  America,  the  Doctor  secured 
from  his  friends  a  handsome  sum  of  money  for  the 
building  of  the  Shiloh  church  edifice  in  Yokohama, 
to  which  he  was  to  give  many  years  of  loving  service. 

A  chapter  must  be  devoted  to  this  church  and 
to  the  Meiji  Gaku-in,  or  (academic  and  theological) 
College  of  the  Era  of  Meiji,  in  Tokyo.  Perhaps  the 
best  translation  of  "Meiji"  would  be  Enlightened 
Rule  (or  Government).  The  Hebrew  term  Mishpat, 
translated  "Judgment"  in  our  Bible,  does  perhaps 
express  more  fully  the  ideas  which  the  Japanese 
comprehend  under  the  idea  of  "government"  and 
we  under  the  term  "civiHzation." 

The  elegant  new  church  edifice  in  Onoe  Cho, 
(street  at  the  end  of  the  Inlet)  near  the  railway 
station,  which  was  dedicated  in  January,  1892,  had 
been  upwards  of  a  year  in  building.  The  gift  of 
personal  friends  of  Dr.  Hepburn,  it  is,  without  excep- 
tion, the  finest  church  in  Yokohama,  having  been 
constructed  of  the  most  substantial  materials.  Brick, 
[183] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

with  stone  trimmings,  was  used  and  the  finish  of  both 
exterior  and  interior  reflects  great  credit  on  the  archi- 
tect, Mr.  Sarda.  The  audience  room  has  two  en- 
trances, through  the  two  towers,  with  a  lecture  or 
Sunday-school  room  attached,  while  the  equipment, 
of  circular  seats,  electric  lights  and  heating  arrange- 
ments, is  most  complete. 

The  historical  paper  read  at  the  dedication  showed 
that  "The  body  of  Christian?,,  for  whose  use  this 
building  was  erected,  began  organized  existence  in 
what  was  for  years  Dr.  Hepburn's  dispensary. 
Thence  they  moved  to  a  large  wooden  building 
erected  for  their  use  in  Sumiyoshi  Cho.  At  this 
time,  the  membership  numbered  three  hundred,  the 
pastor  being  the  Rev.  Hidetaro  Yamamoto." 

The  dedicatory  services  were  in  Japanese;  Mr. 
Okuno  reading  the  Scriptures,  Dr.  Imbrie  delivering 
the  sermon,  and  Dr.  David  Thompson  offering  the 
dedicatory  prayer.  Mr.  Nishimura,  an  efficient 
elder  of  the  church,  was  at  the  organ. 

A  collation  was  afterwards  served  to  foreign  and 
native  guests.  At  the  end  of  the  room  were  set  life- 
size  crayon  sketches  of  Dr.  and  IVIrs.  Hepburn,  which 
were  to  adorn  the  pastor's  study.  These  were  the 
work  of  Professor  S.  Hayashi.  A  room  in  one  of  the 
towers  was  to  be  used  for  prayer  circles  or  private 
conference,  and  another,  of  similar  size,  in  the  other 
tower,  was  for  the  pastor. 

Dr.  Hepburn's  letter,  committing  the  sacred  edi- 
fice to  their  care,  reads  as  follows: 
[1841 


TWO    NOBLE    MONUMENTS 

To  the  pastors,  elders  and  members  of  the  Shiloh  church : 

My  dear  Brethren: 

In  taking  leave  of  you  and  handing  over  this  church  to 
your  care,  I  desire  to  say  that  I  have  endeavored  faithfully  to 
employ  the  funds  and  fulfill  the  intentions  of  the  many  Chris- 
tian friends  who  have  so  liberally  and  unitedly  contributed 
to  the  building.  In  erecting  this  church  and  presenting  it  to 
you,  we  desire  to  afford  you  a  place  for  the  worship  of  God 
and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  and  from  which  should  ever 
be  proclaimed  the  knowledge  of  God  and  that  great  salvation 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  he  has  provided  for  all 
men.  It  is  our  earnest  desire,  dear  friends,  that  you  be 
always  careful  to  keep  it  only  for  this  purpose,  and  not  pro- 
fane it  by  using  it  for  any  secular  purpose  whatever,  or  for 
any  meeting  that  has  not  the  honor  of  God  and  the  moral 
interest  of  men  in  view. 

Dr.  Hepburn  built  a  house  on  a  portion  of  the 
ground  belonging  to  the  Meiji  Gaku-in,  Mr.  McNair 
being  the  architect.  In  this  he  had  expected  to 
reside;  but  later,  concluding  not  to  remove  from 
Yokohama,  he  presented  the  building  to  the  Pres- 
byterian Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  By  a  vote  of 
the  standing  committee,  held  on  July  3,  1888,  the 
house  was  received  and  a  resolution  of  thanks 
adopted. 

Dr.  Hepburn  resigned  the  presidency  of  the  Meiji 
Gaku-in,  and  his  resignation  was  accepted  by  the 
directors,  October  13,  1892.  The  document  was 
signed  by  Rev.  George  William  Knox  and  Naomi 
Tamura. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  services  was  that  of 
the  synod  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan.  After 
[185] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

important  business,  the  members  assembled  in  the 
chapel  of  Sandham  Hall,  to  witness  the  inauguration 
of  the  Rev.  K.  Ibuka,  A.M.,  as  president  of  the 
Meiji  Gaku-in,  in  succession  to  Dr.  Hepburn.  Ad- 
dresses were  made  by  the  two  presidents,  by  Dr. 
G.  F.  Verbeck  and  by  Prof.  M.  N.  Wyckoff,  of  the 
Reformed  Church  in  America,  besides  Messrs.  Ina- 
gaki  and  Uyemura.  Flags,  flowers  and  the  Bible 
were  in  notable  evidence.  The  organ  gave  forth  the 
music  of  "Coronation,"  "Ward"  and  "Old  Hundred." 
After  prayer  by  Rev.  Isagawa,  the  Forty-eighth 
Psalm  was  read  by  Mr.  Ogawa,  the  oldest  Christian 
pastor  in  Tokyo.  Dr.  Hepburn,  in  giving  its  his- 
tory, spoke  of  the  very  small  beginning,  from  an 
elementary  day  school  for  teaching  English  in  Yoko- 
hama, and  the  various  stages  of  progress  until  now, 
when  it  was  to  be  put  mainly  under  the  management 
and  instruction  of  educated  and  competent  Japanese 

—  the  goal  which  foreign  teachers  have  ever  aimed 
at  and  hoped  to  reach  in  their  work. 

One  can  imagine  the  pleasing  smile  on  the  face 
of  the  Doctor,  when  he  welcomed  Mr.  Ibuka,  and 
said: 

"May  we  not  regard  his  name  as  auspicious,  as  a 
presage  of  future  good  to  the  college,  that  as  Ibuka 

—  a  well  deep  with  pure  and  living  water  —  he  may 
diffuse  a  refreshing  and  healthful  influence  all  around; 
and  as  Kajinosuke,  my  successor  at  the  helm  of  this 
noble  institution,  the  Meiji  Gaku-in,  he  may  always 
steer  it  on  a  safe  and  prosperous  course,  avoiding  all 

fl86l 


TWO    NOBLE    MONUMENTS 

the  dangerous  rocks  and  shoals  that  may  be  in  his 
way." 

The  applause  following  this  bright,  witty  and 
appropriate  speech  was  vigorous. 

President  Ibuka's  address  in  Japanese,  equally 
modest  and  beautiful,  followed.  He  reviewed  Dr. 
Hepburn's  labors  and  the  work  of  education  in  Japan 
and  foreshadowed  the  future  of  the  work  which  he 
hoped  the  institution  was  to  carry  on. 

When  Verbeck,  the  eloquent,  spoke,  he  captivated 
the  audience  by  his  fluent  and  logical  discourse, 
seasoned  with  many  a  sparkling  and  witty  thrust  at 
smatterers,  whether  in  theology,  science,  or  other 
departments  of  life.  He  laid  emphasis  on  what 
constituted  the  source  of  Christianity.  It  was  the 
doctrine  or  teachings  of  Christ.  He  showed  the 
need  of  systematic  teaching,  which  was  as  necessary 
as  maps  and  charts  to  the  navigator.  Creed  and 
confessions  were  requisite  for  preventing  errors,  as 
well  as  for  making  strong  and  perfectly  formed 
Christian  men.  As  water  never  rose  higher  than 
its  source,  so  no  man  lived  above  his  creed.  For- 
tunately creeds  do  neither  make  nor  alter  the  truth 
of  Christianity  any  more  than  the  system  of  astron- 
omy creates  the  laws  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  He 
congratulated  all  upon  the  choice  of  the  new 
president. 

At  the  end  of  the  sessions  of  the  synod,  after  com- 
munion of  the  Lord's  Supper  had  been  enjoyed,  the 
evidences  of  their  environment,  in  the  archipelago, 
[187] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

which  is  so  geologically  young,  were  strikingly 
manifested  in  the  resolutions  of  sympathy  with  the 
sufferers  from  natural  calamities.  I.  Oishi,  who, 
with  his  wife  had  been  killed  in  the  recent  Nagoya 
earthquake,  was  a  member  of  the  synod  of  the  pre- 
vious year. 

A.n  address,  November  8,  1892,  from  the  Japanese 
churches  of  Osaka  to  Dr.  Hepburn,  contained  many 
touching  sentences.  This  letter  was  in  the  name  of 
the  synod  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan,  then  in 
session  at  Osaka. 

"It  is  now  thirty- three  years  ago  —  when  Japan 
was  but  one  of  the  darkest  spots  on  the  globe  —  that 
you  landed  on  our  then  unwelcome  shores."  The 
Doctor  was  congratulated  as  a  pioneer  and  as  a 
physician  —  "the  father  of  medical  science  in  this 
part  of  Asia."  As  a  lexicographer,  "he  saved  thou- 
sands of  students,  both  natives  and  foreigners,  toils 
and  discouragements,  that  might  have  resulted  in 
despair."  As  a  translator,  "he  left  the  people  a 
perpetual  blessing  —  that  of  reading  the  Word  of 
God  in  their  own  tongue."  As  president  of  the 
Meiji  Gaku-in,  direct  worker  in  the  vineyard  of  the 
Lord,  he  saw  the  completion  of  the  Shiloh  church. 
The  letter  ended  with  blessings,  good  wishes  and 
prayers.  It  was  signed  by  the  president,  Mr.  Ohgimi, 
and  the  secretary,  Mr.  Yamamoto. 


188 


XX 

FAREWELL  TO  JAPAN 

WHEN  the  Hepburns  were  about  to  leave 
their  island  home,  there  was  no  end  to 
the  expressions  of  regard  from  the 
people.  They  looked  upon  this  old  couple  who 
—  for  over  a  half  century,  thirty-three  years  of  which 
had  been  spent  in  Japan  —  had  walked  hand  and 
hand  together  along  life's  pathway,  as  embodying 
both  the  Christian  and  the  marital  ideal.  The  con- 
trast between  the  hermit  land  of  1859  and  the  empire 
of  1892  lent  many  a  suggestion  to  the  .occasion.  In 
this  chapter  is  condensed  the  substance  of  the  ad- 
dresses of  many  speakers,  as  they  uttered  their  sad, 
grateful,  sayonara,  or  farewell. 

One  native  orator  named  two  institutions  as  grow- 
ing almost  directly  out  of  the  work  of  this  couple, 
one  being  the  Ferris  Seminary,  or  School  for  Girls, 
of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America,  situated  on  the 
Bluff  in  Yokohama,  which  grew  out  of  the  work  of 
Mrs.  Hepburn;  and  the  Meiji  Gaku-in,  or  College 
and  Theological  School  which  developed  from  the 
Doctor's  labors.  These,  with  the  dictionary  and  the 
translation  of  the  Bible,  made  four  great  monuments. 
[189] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

The  prejudices  of  the  insulars  against  the  outsiders 
in  old  days  seemed  once,  like  that  of  the  cities  of  the 
plain  to  the  Israelites,  "fortified  up  to  heaven."  It 
was  the  Doctor's  business  to  break  these  down  and 
to  introduce  the  Mishpat,  or  "Judgment"  of  the 
brotherhood  of  the  Christian  world,  in  place  of  the 
local  gods  and  their  abominations.  He  had  come 
to  be  a  transformer  of  Japan. 

It  was  the  daily  lives  of  Dr.  Hepburn  and  his  fel- 
low workers  in  the  early  days,  which  wooed  Japan  first 
to  tolerate  and  then  to  welcome  missionaries  to  these 
shores.  It  is  to  them  that  Japan  owes  the  greater 
part  of  her  present  advancement.  "The  missionary 
body  has  been  Japan's  chief  instructor,  exerting  an 
influence  wholly  for  enlightenment  and  good." 

Farewell  services,  held  at  the  Shiloh  church,  on 
Saturday,  October  13,  were  attended  by  many  native 
Christians,  from  several  churches.  Prayer  was 
offered  by  Rev.  A.  Hattori  of  Tokyo,  once  a  pupil  of 
Dr.  Hepburn.  Okuno  read,  from  Acts,  chapter  20J 
Paul's  farewell  to  the  Ephesian  elders. 

Just  as  the  Doctor  was  rising  to  reply  to  the  ad- 
dresses of  the  native  pastors,  a  photographer  asked 
for  a  moment's  pause  that  he  might  take  a  picture. 
The  Doctor  and  his  wife,  standing  arm  in  arm,  in 
the  pulpit  and  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  their 
admiring  children  in  the  faith  were  pictured  and 
printed  by  the  sunlight. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  photography  was 
first  introduced  into  Japan  by  Rev.  Dr.  S.  R.  Brown, 
[1901 


FAREWELL    TO    JAPAN 

who  taught  a  Japanese,  who  became  skillful  and  fa- 
mous. From  the  Reformed,  now  Congregational, 
church  in  Ithaca,  New  York,  came  most  of  the 
money  for  this  photographic  equipment. 

Dr.  Hepburn's  address  in  Japanese  was  a  model 
of  simphcity  and  sincerity.  He  recounted  how  sixty 
years  ago,  when  first  he  gave  his  heart  to  Christ,  he 
covenanted  to  go  wherever  Christ  wanted  him.  As 
a  servant  of  Jesus,  he  was  a  debtor  unto  all  men, 
and  in  coming  to  Japan  he  only  did  what  was  his 
duty  to  do. 

As  the  oldest  resident  in  Yokohama  —  then,  in 
1892,  a  city  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people, 
—  he  remembered  that  it  was  in  1859  a  mere  fishing 
village,  consisting  of  a  few  small  huts,  on  a  narrow 
strip  of  land  surrounded  by  marshes.  Fishing  boats 
were  out  on  the  water,  over  what  now  constitutes 
the  greater  part  of  the  city.  He  did  service  with  a 
friend  then,  acting  as  a  mayor,  in  laying  out  the 
town.  The  creek  did  not  then  exist,  but  was  cut 
through  later  for  purposes  of  isolation,  or  protection. 
The  new  settlement  was  to  be  a  sort  of  Deshima, 
which  to  the  Japanese  was  the  model  for  the  treat- 
ment of  foreigners.  Only  a  few  settlers  had  come 
over  from  China  to  open  business. 

Professor  Ishimoto  rendered  the  Doctor's  address 
into  Japanese  and  this  was  followed  by  Rev.  A.  Hat- 
tori,  in  an  eloquent  expression  of  thanks  to  Mrs. 
Hepburn  for  the  early  and  active  part  she  had  taken 
in  woman's  education.  He  said  that  the  very  first 
[191] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

recognition  of  woman's  work  by  the  government, 
through  the  Department  of  Education,  was  in  enga- 
ging a  pupil  of  Mrs.  Hepburn  to  assist  Miss  Margaret 
C.  Grifiis  and  Mrs.  Peter  Veeder,  in  the  first  school 
established  in  Tokyo.  This  afterwards  led  to  the 
Normal  School,  while  the  present  prosperous  Reformed 
Church  school,  the  Ferris  Seminary  on  the  Bluff, 
owed  its  origin  to  a  class  of  pupils,  which  Mrs.  Hep- 
burn had  turned  over  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Kidder  [later 
Mrs.  E.  Rothesay  Miller]  of  the  Reformed  Church. 

An  original  poem  by  Okuno,  the  hymnologist,  con- 
cluded the  exercises.  The  aged  poet's  beautiful  and 
sympathetic  utterances  and  their  mournful  and 
pathetic  cadences  bowed  the  heads  and  suffused  the 
eyes  of  the  native  part  of  his  audience.  It  was  a 
touching  tribute  of  the  deep  affection  and  warm  heart 
of  the  native  brethren  for  their  beloved  teachers. 

Then  the  poet  became  the  petitioner  at  the  throne 
of  grace,  white-haired  Okuno  praying  for  God's  bless- 
ing upon  the  Hepburns,  and  upon  their  labors,  and 
especially  on  the  copy  of  Scriptures,  presented  some 
years  before,  to  His  Majesty,  the  Emperor. 

The  faculty  and  students  of  the  Meiji  College  could 
not  let  Dr.  Hepburn  off  without  a  farewell  meeting, 
which  was  held  on  October  i8.  The  city  itself  was 
on  this  day  gay  with  the  national  flags,  flying  out  in 
honor  of  the  feast  of  first  fruits,  or  the  initial  eating 
of  the  autumn's  new  rice.  Over  Sandham  Hall, 
in  the  chapel  where  the  services  were  held,  there  was 
a  massive  evergreen  arch.  The  hall  was  filled  chiefly 
[192] 


FAREWELL    TO    JAPAN 

by  students,  native  pastors  and  prominent  Chris- 
tian people.  President  Ibuka  presided  and  Dr. 
Verbeck  made  the  first  address  in  English.  He 
recounted  the  Doctor's  labors  in  so  many  forms, 
showing  especially  how  visible  to  all  his  work  was. 
There  was  the  Bible  in  Japanese,  the  great  dictionary, 
Bible  dictionary,  Hepburn  Hall,  Shiloh  church,  the 
heaUng  of  hundreds,  and  more,  which  "could  not 
be  included  in  a  ticket  across  the  Pacific.  .  .  . 
His  life's  work  is  efficiently,  successfully,  yea,  well 
done.  Everything  that  Dr.  Hepburn  put  his  hand 
to  was  well  finished." 

Dr.  McAuley,  representing  the  academic  faculty, 
also  spoke.  He  said  that  he  regarded  God's  provi- 
dence, in  fitting  men  for  their  social  mission,  as  not 
confined  to  the  early  ages  of  the  Christian  Church. 
He  added  the  fact  that  about  one  hundred  full  grad- 
uates, and  fifteen  hundred  students,  who  had,  at 
one  time  or  another,  received  instruction,  was  the 
record  of  Meiji  College.  Other  speakers  took  part 
and  then  the  English  hymn,  "Blest  be  the  tie  that 
binds,"  was  sung. 

Dr.  Hepburn  briefly  replied  and  a  touching  prayer 
was  offered  by  Rev.  Y.  Ogawa,  one  of  the  oldest 
Christians  and  Bible  translators  [for  a  few  months, 
at  first]  and  the  first  ordained  minister  in  Japan. 

Rev.,  now  President,  T.  Harada,  of  the  Doshisha 

University  in  Kyoto,  represented  the  Congregational 

and   other   churches  of  Japan,   in   expressing   their 

sense   of   indebtedness.    Having   never   before   had 

[  193  ] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

the  pleasure  of  seeing  or  meeting  the  guest  of  the 
day,  he  told  how  he  first  came  to  hear  the  names 
of  Hepburn.  A  certain  eyewash  had  been  recom- 
mended as  having  been  a  prescription  of  Dr.  Hep- 
bum.  He  obtained  some  and  found  it  efhcacious. 
Next,  when  a  student  of  English  and  looking  up  the 
English  equivalents  of  Japanese  words,  the  Doc- 
tor's dictionary  was  of  the  greatest  service.  When 
he  became  a  Christian  and  read  the  Scriptures  in 
his  mother-tongue,  he  learned  more  fully  what  this 
medical  and  literary  missionary  had  done,  not  only 
for  Japan  but  for  all  her  people.  He  enlarged  upon 
the  wide  scope  of  his  influence,  in  Japan  and  also  in 
the  pupils  sent  abroad,  who  received  posts  of  honor 
on  their  return.  Many  individuals  and  agencies 
had  united  to  advance  his  nation,  "but  if  one  alone 
were  to  be  singled  out,  there  could  be  no  doubt  that 
name  would  be  Dr.  Hepburn's.  .  .  .  The  proverb 
'Many  begin,  but  few  end'  found  in  him  a  favorable 
fulfillment." 

The  foreign  residents  and  the  Union  Church 
people  of  Yokohama  could  not  allow  the  aged  couple 
to  leave  Japan  without  showing  their  appreciation 
of  them.  So  at  the  Van  Schaick  Hall,  in  Ferris 
Seminary  they  gathered  together  on  the  evening  of 
October  i8,  amid  greenery  and  flowers,  music  and 
rejoicing.  A.  J.  Wilkins,  whom  one  might  call  the 
senior  citizen  in  Yokohama,  being  called  to  the  chair, 
spoke  words  of  welcome  and  eulogy,  remarking: 

"And  when  I  say  'they'  I  do  not  separate  wife 
[1941 


FAREWELL    TO    JAPAN 

from  husband.  .  .  .  She  is  the  secret  supply  of  oil 
which  feeds  the  flame.  .  .  .  The  dictionary,  evolved 
from  chaos,  after  more  than  nine  years  of  patient 
work,  was  an  invaluable  boon  to  merchants,  and 
students,  as  well  as  to  missionaries.  His  work  in 
the  dispensary  was  a  large  means  of  securing  recog- 
nition of  the  value  of  Western  science." 

The  British  consul,  Mr.  Troup,  also  spoke  feelingly. 
"On  the  one  hand,  the  powers  of  the  Western  nations 
were  being  exhibited  by  force,  on  the  other  the  moral 
ideas  represented  by  the  gospel  of  peace  were  being 
quietly  exhibited  by  the  Doctor's  ministrations  to 
the  bodies  and  souls  of  the  people." 

Dr.  J.  H.  Ballagh,  besides  a  short  speech,  read 
a  poem.  Dr.  Thwing  spoke  of  the  monumental 
service  of  the  Doctor  and  of  the  interminable  fer- 
tihty  of  his  noble,  unselfish  life.  Dr.  Meacham, 
pastor  of  the  Union  Church,  spoke  feelingly,  quoting 
also  Robert  Browning's  matchless  verse: 

Grow  old  along  with  me! 

The  best  is  yet  to  be, 
The  last  of  life,  for  which  the  first  was  made: 

Our  times  are  in  His  hand 

Who  saith  "  A  whole  I  planned, 
Youth  shows  but  half;  trust  God:  see  all  nor  be  afraid!" 

Dr.  Hepburn,  rising  to  reply,  said,  "Our  dear 
Christian  friends,  you  have  made  it  very  hard  for  us 
to  leave  Japan."  Then  he  spoke  of  the  many  men 
whom  he  had  known  in  the  East,  before  the  Opium 
War  of  1842  —  Gutzlaff,  Morrison,  Wilhams,  Med- 
hurst,  Milne,  Dyer,  Bridgeman  —  all  now  gone. 
[195] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

"One  peculiarity  of  the  Christian  and  foreign  com- 
munity at  Yokohama,"  he  said,  "was  that  they  were 
all  as  members  of  one  family,  rather  like  children 
away  from  home  at  school,  each  one  of  whom  looked 
forward  to  returning  home,  and  if  one  dropped  out 
of  his  place  he  would  be  missed." 

"The  Japan  Mail,"  which  contained  a  notice  of 
this  farewell  meeting,  remarked  editorially: 

"To  a  man  whose  name  will  be  remembered  with 
respect  and  affection  so  long  as  Yokohama  has  any 
annals  .  .  .  the  public's  feeling  of  love  and  rever- 
ence .  .  .  has  constantly  increased.  No  single  person 
has  done  so  much  to  bring  foreigners  and  Japa- 
nese into  close  intercourse.  .  .  .  Hepburn's  diction- 
ary was  the  first  book  that  gave  access  to  the  language 
of  the  country  and  remains  to  this  day  the  best  avail- 
able interpreter  of  that  language.  .  .  .  His  life  has 
existed  to  break  down  the  old  barriers  of  racial  preju- 
dice and  distrust.  ...  To  the  great  mass  of  human- 
ity a  picture  appeals  more  swiftly  and  remains  longer 
and  more  clearly  in  the  mind  than  words  or  writing, 
and  to  the  Japanese  people  there  is  one  indelible  pic- 
ture, the  elements  of  which  are  the  beauty  of  his 
character,  his  untiring  charity  and  his  steady  zeal 
in  the  cause  of  everything  good.  .  .  .  Happy  are 
they  who  discover  early  in  life  that  the  best  rewards 
of  life  are  not  in  money  or  worldly  goods.  His  benev- 
olence, although  always  large  and  sometimes  even 
trespassing  on  the  limits  of  his  means,  was  so  unos- 
tentatious that  few  have  suspected  its  extent.  The 
[196] 


FAREWELL    TO    JAPAN 

whole  of  the  sum  gained  by  the  sale  of  the  second 
[third?]  edition  of  his  dictionary,  amounting  to  sev- 
eral thousands  of  dollars,  was  devoted  to  the  build- 
ing of  a  spacious  addition  to  the  Meiji  Gaku-in. 

"Dr.  Hepburn  won  the  love  of  all  nationalities  in 
the  settlement.  He  worked  entirely  for  the  good 
to  be  wrought  and  not  for  the  praise  to  be  won." 

On  October  i8,  1892,  the  native  doctors  of  Yoko- 
hama, fifty  or  more,  many  of  them  former  pupils  of 
Dr.  Hepburn,  gave  him  an  entertainment  in  a  Japa- 
nese restaurant,  situated  in  a  street  fitly  named 
Sumiyoshi.  The  name  Sumiyoshi  is  associated  in 
all  Japanese  minds  with  the  loving  old  couple,  who 
stand  in  the  sentimental  world  as  the  representatives 
of  happy  married  hfe  and  serene  longevity.  Be- 
sides the  addresses,  there  were  choice  presents  given, 
as  souvenirs  of  grateful  appreciation, 

Li  the  same  week,  a  most  enjoyable  dinner  was 
given  in  Tokyo,  as  a  farewell,  at  the  residence  of  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  David  Thompson,  at  which  nearly  all  the 
members  of  the  East  Japan  Presbyterian  Mission, 
—  which  Dr.  Hepburn  had  the  pleasure  of  establish- 
ing, a  third  of  a  century  before  —  were  present. 

The  Hepbums  sailed  for  San  Francisco  in  the 
steamship  Gaelic,  October  22,  1892.  Even  after 
they  had  gone,  the  stream  of  eulogy  ceased  not  to 
flow.  Two  native  Christian  journals  in  Tokyo 
had  previously  contained  articles  on  Dr.  Hepburn's 
departure  and  summarized  graphically  in  detail  his 
scientific,  medical,  literary  and  religious  work.  "A 
[1971 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

new  era,"  wrote  Professor  Ishimoto  in  "The  Evangel- 
ist," of  October  7,  1892,  ''opened  in  Dr.  Hepburn's 
life,  when  he  closed  his  dispensary  and  devoted  himself 
wholly  to  Bible  translation.  .  .  .  Diplomatic  corre- 
spondence, business  letters,  the  evangehstic  work  of 
missionaries,  and  the  progress  of  students,  all  owe  very 
much  to  Dr.  Hepburn's  dictionary.  .  .  .  Bible  transla- 
tion was  the  work  of  many,  but  the  chief  worker  was 
Dr.  Hepburn.  .  .  .  The  gift  of  the  five-storied  dor- 
mitory, named  Hepburn  Hall  by  the  faculty,  was  a 
notable  monument  of  his  generosity." 

In  "The  Christian,"  of  October  4,  1892,  the  situa- 
tion in  1859  was  pictured.  Then  the  principle  of 
opening  Japan  to  foreigners  was  not  settled,  and 
the  foundations  of  New  Japan  were  not  yet  laid. 

y"When  it  was  common  for  the  patriot  to  take  his 
sword  in  his  hand,  there  was  a  man  who  came  to  our 
country  with  the  gospel  of  peace.  .  .  .  The  once 
young  and  able  couple  have  now  become  the  old, 
white-haired  couple.  .  .  .  The  gift  which  the  Doctor 
has  made  to  our  countrymen  is  his  personality,  more 
than  his  work.  .  .  .  Isaiah  of  old  described  the  ideal 
missionary  and  said:  'Behold  my  servant  .  .  .  mine 
elect.  ...  I  have  put  my  Spirit  upon  him;  he 
shall  bring  forth  judgment  to  the  Gentiles.  He 
shall  not  cry,  nor  lift  up,  nor  cause  his  voice  to  be 
heard  in  the  street.'  .  .  .  Admiring  his  high  and  pure 
personaKty,  we  say  of  Dr.  Hepburn  that  he  is  dead 
to  this  world  and  his  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God." 

\ 

[1981 


XXI 

REST  AFTER  TOIL 

AT  twenty-six,  Dr.  Hepburn  began  work  in 
the  Malay  world,  at  Singapore.  At  twenty- 
eight,  he  was  in  China.  At  forty-four  he 
began  the  chief  labors  of  his  life  in  Japan.  At 
seventy-seven,  he  came  home  for  rest,  little  think- 
ing, and  less  knowing,  that  twenty  years  of  life  yet 
awaited  him. 

From  his  last  journals,  as  far  as  possible,  let  the 
Doctor  tell  the  story  of  his  life  of  quiet  repose  at 
East  Orange,  New  Jersey. 

On  October  23,  1892,  he  made  this  entry:  "Left 
Japan  for  the  United  States,  not  expecting  to  return, 
in  the  steamship  Gaelic,  and  arrived  in  San  Francisco, 
November  10.  Went  down  to  Pasadena,  California, 
where  we  spent  the  winter  until  May  4,  when  we 
started  for  New  York  by  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
way, stopping  at  several  places  on  the  way,  arriving 
in  New  York  on  May  19.  Going  to  East  Orange 
on  May  24,  we  remained  with  Dr.  Lowrie,  until 
Monday,  May  29,  when  we  took  possession  of  the 
house.  No.  384  Williams  Street." 

On  July  6  he  purchased  the  house  and  lot  No. 
71  Glenwood  Avenue.  Ah!  how  the  Doctor  and  his 
fl99l 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

wife  did  miss  the  good  servants,  the  universal  polite- 
ness, the  lovely  scenery  of  Japan!  Let  the  veil  be 
drawn  over  some  of  the  first  housekeeping  experi- 
ences with  ''help"  in  East  Orange! 

On  November  27,  Dr.  Hepburn  was  elected  an 
elder  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church  at  East 
Orange,  and  was  installed  on  December  30.  For 
years  he  enjoyed  his  service. 

Always  sensitive  to  changing  temperature,  in  his 
journals  he  kept  records  of  heat  and  cold  from  his 
early  life  to  his  eventide.  It  is  amusing  to  think  of 
the  vast  contrast  between  his  almost  changeless 
temper  —  which  resembled  an  ocean  in  calm,  or  a 
spirit  level  with  the  bubble  always  in  the  center  — • 
and  the  great  cosmic  air-ocean,  which,  never  at  rest, 
was  continually  churned  by  winds,  moved  by  the 
sun's  heat  and  the  night's  cold,  and  often  heaving 
with  storms. 

With  him,  the  idea  and  practice  of  a  journal  was  a 
record  of  temperatures,  varied  with  a  minute  and 
accurate  note  of  the  particular  chapter  or  verse  he 
was  translating,  of  the  line  or  page  of  the  dictionary 
he  was  making  or  revising  —  he  made  no  ineffectual 
notes,  they  were  all  useful.  Emotions  usually  found 
expression  in  prayer  or  accompanied  brief  notices 
of  events  or  persons.  Tender,  wise,  or  philosophic, 
they  savored  of  sincere  piety. 

On  June  17,  1897,  he  made  an  entry  which  calls 
up  amusing  associations  to  those  who  knew  the 
Doctor  and  his  tendency  to  take  literally  the  words  of 
[2001 


DR.    HEPBURN 

Al  jS  years 
Taken  soon  after  Ins  return  to  America  from  Japan 


REST    AFTER    TOIL 

Jesus,  ''sell  all . .  .  and  .  . .  follow  me."  It  is  this:  "De- 
posited a  trunk,  containing  a  silver  tea  set,  in  the  safe 
of  the  People's  Bank."  Behind  this  sentence-record, 
Ues  a  history.  That  elegant  silver  tea  service  was 
the  gift  of  the  merchants  of  Yokohama  to  Dr.  Hep- 
burn, presented  to  him  when  he  was  ^bout'to  leave 
Japan  for  America.  He  had  been  so  long  a  friend  of 
everybody,  and  had  won,  as  few  missionaries  do,  or 
can,  the  love  and  regard  of  all  classes,  including  the 
commercial  body  in  Yokohama,  that  they  quietly 
collected  a  large  sum  of  money  and  invested  it  in  a 
silver  tea  service,  made  in  Japan.  This  was  duly  *-^ 
presented  to  him,  but,  with  the  proviso,  which  was 
"nominated  in  the  bond"  and  signed  by  the  Doctor 
himself,  that  he  would  never  sell  it  for  any  religious 
or  philanthropic  purpose,  or  for  any  object  outside 
of  his  immediate  personal  advantage.  His  friends 
had  a  merry  laugh  about  this.  Then,  in  East  Orange, 
probably  to  afford  no  temptation,  either  to  burglars 
or  to  himself,  he  put  it  in  the  safety  vault  of  the 
bank! 

The  Doctor  had  so  great  an  aversion  to  laying  up 
treasures  upon  earth  —  having  so  keen  a  vision  of 
the  true  riches  —  that  the  very  furnishing  of  his 
house  seemed  more  Japanese  than  American.  It 
was  certainly  a  home  of  appalling  simphcity  in  the 
eyes  of  some  ostentatious  persons  in  Uncle  Sam's 
country,  whose  one  great  desire  was  to  show  off 
dress,  pelf,  upholstery,  cabinet  ware  and  china.  The 
Doctor  was  not  the  only  one,  in  the  Land  of  the 
[2011 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

Almighty  Dollar,  to  confess  gladly  his  purification 
of  taste  and  love  of  the  chastely  simple,  because  of 
long  residence  in  Japan.  The  aesthetic  Japanese 
have  a  dislike  of  display,  and  "a  horror  of  the  too 
much,"  that  is  truly  Grecian.  Hundreds  of  Ameri- 
cans gladly  confess  their  debt,  in  aesthetic  instruction, 
to  the  Japanese.  It  is  certain  that  the  Doctor,  con- 
tent with  such  things  as  barely  ministered  to  his  com- 
fort, was  supremely  happy  in  enjoying  the  Invisible. 
It  was  a  means  of  grace  for  him  to  look  into  the 
average  shop  window  on  Broadway  and  see  how 
many  things  there  were  in  this  world  which  he  did 
not  want. 

On  January  21,  1895,  he  went  to  Campbell  Hall, 
New  York,  to  celebrate  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
his  brother  Slaytor's  ordination  to  the  ministry.  Two 
months  later,  this  brother  passed  away.  When  ap- 
parently in  good  health,  he  was  smitten  with  paraly- 
sis, and  after  a  week's  unconsciousness  died,  and  was 
buried  at  East  Orange.  "Thus  suddenly,  and  with- 
out warning,  passed  away  one  of  God's  faithful 
servants  from  this  earth  to  wake  up  in  heaven." 
On  May  30,  the  widow  of  his  brother  Slaytor  died  of 
pneumonia;  and  on  November  15,  another  relative, 
Samuel  Hepburn,  of  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  aged 
ninety-one,  died.  The  Doctor's  life  was  becoming 
increasingly  lonely. 

On  March  23,  1895,  the  Hepbums  attended  the 
twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  Woman's  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  in  Philadelphia.  A  great  and 
[202] 


REST    AFTER    TOIL 

noble  movement,  out  of  the  heart  of  American  Chris- 
tian womanhood,  in  behalf  of  Asia  and  of  all 
humanity  had  come  to  maturity,  the  grand  results 
justifying  the  organization  and  crowning  its  work. 

At  another  time,  we  find  the  Hepburns  going  to 
Princeton  to  attend  the  funeral  of  Mr.  Ichimoto. 
A  few  days  afterwards,  Mrs.  Keswick,  daughter  of 
Sir  Harry  Parkes,  the  indomitably  active  plenipo- 
tentiary of  Great  Britain  for  so  many  years  in  Japan 
and  China,  called  on  the  Hepburns.  She  was  on 
her  way  to  England  from  Japan.  One  of  the  Doc- 
tor's warm  friendships  had  been  with  Sir  Harry,  who 
was  a  nephew  of  Rev.  Karl  Gutzlaff. 

On  March  30,  1901,  the  Doctor  wrote  me  that  he 
was  in  very  good  health,  with  no  evidence  of  disease 
of  any  kind  in  his  body,  but  only  a  general  feeling 
of  weariness.  He  was  easily  tired  and  had  "a  slight 
soreness  of  feet,  due  to  an  attack  of  gout,  some 
twenty  years  ago,"  which  disabled  him  from  taking 
long  walks. 

He  wrote  further:  "I  may  say  that  I  have  no 
objection  to  your  receiving  and  making  use  of  all 
such  papers  and  journals  of  mine,  after  my  decease, 
as  you  may  consider  useful  in  the  history  [of  the 
American  Makers  of  the  New  Japan]  which  you 
contemplate,  if  you  think,  after  full  and  serious  con- 
sideration, it  would  be  worth  while  or  desirable. 

"As  for  myself,  I  have  not  a  spark  of  ambition  or 
desire  that  any  more  notice  of  my  life  or  work  should 
be  made  public  than  has  naturally  been   through 
[  203  ] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

missionary  journals,  and  I  hope  you  may  come  to 
the  same  conclusion.  I  will  leave  it  to  your  own 
judgment,  after  you  have  thought  it  over. 

"In  judging  of  my  own  character  and  abilities,  I 
may  say  that  I  am  only  a  plodder,  of  average  tal- 
ents, and  of  plain  common  sense;  if  remarkable  for 
anything,  it  has  been  for  industry  and  perseverance, 
working  steadily  on  one  line  and  toward  one  object. 
I  have  been  studious,  rather  retiring  and  unsocial, 
and  of  sedentary  habit,  without  much  force,  vigor, 
or  activity.  Have  been  subject  to  such  trials,  temp- 
tations and  difficulties  as  are  common  to  man,  and, 
leaning  on  the  arm  of  God,  have  nearly  reached  the 
end  of  my  long  journey. 

"I  may  say  that  the  Father  has  been  very  kind  and 
very  dear  to  me,  granting  me  and  my  dear  wife 
such  long  lives,  so  comfortable  and  free  from  worldly 
\  cares." 

He  believed  in  keeping  nothing  in  his  own  hands, 
when  what  he  had  to  offer  could  be  of  more  service 
elsewhere.  On  May  7,  1902,  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  passed  a  vote 
of  thanks  for  the  gift  of  books  from  Dr.  Hepburn's 
library,  consisting  mostly  of  the  Transactions  of  the 
Asiatic  Society  of  Japan,  and  of  the  Japan  Society  of 
London  —  books  whose  value  increases  year  by  year. 

He  was  present,  on  October  25,  1902,  at  the  induc- 
tion into  office  of  Woodrow  Wilson,  LL.D.,  as  presi- 
dent of  Princeton  University. 

At  the  first  banquet  of  the  Princeton  Alumni 
[204  1 


REST    AFTER    TOIL 

Association  of  ''the  Oranges"  —  charming  towns  in 
Northern  New  Jersey  —  on  the  evening  of  Novem- 
ber lo,  there  were  graduates  present,  all  the  way 
from  1832  to  1904,  the  oldest  and  foremost  being 
Dr.  Hepburn,  who  said  grace,  after  which  there  was 
a  "locomotive"  or  train  of  cheers  for  him. 

Before  the  great  deep  shadow  of  mental  disorder, 
soon  to  fall  on  her  —  which  happily  did  not  last  long, 
before  He  who  "giveth  his  beloved  sleep"  called  her 
to  higher  service  above  —  Mrs.  Hepburn  also  enjoyed 
a  great  social  honor  from  a  troop  of  friends.  On  her 
eighty- third  birthday,  when  at  the  "  Grand  View  San- 
itarium," near  Wernersville,  Pennsylvania,  Mrs.  Hep- 
burn was  treated  to  a  delightful  surprise.  Into  the 
decorated  hall  of  the  solarium,  she  was  brought  to 
receive  her  friends.  The  American  flag  was  dr:';i:'l 
over  the  doorway.  The  piano  and  mantel,  covered 
with  maidenhair  fern  and  nasturtiums  and  plenty  of 
palms  and  potted  plants  in  view,  made  a  bower,  in 
which  the  lady  of  honor,  seated  in  her  chair,  was 
the  center  of  attention.  ''The  young  and  girHsh 
woman  enjoyed  the  fun  herself,  as  she  was  presented 
with  a  cut-glass  vase,  a  bouquet  of  roses  and  an  artis- 
tically iced  cake,  bearing  the  inscription  '83  years.' " 
Joseph  Culvert  of  Philadelphia  read  a  poem,  one 
stanza  of  which  is  as  follows: 

Flakes  of  fallen  snow,  that  lie  in  clusters  o'er  thy  brow, 
Suggest  of  many  a  wintry  storm  since  morning  dawned  and  now, 
Though  still  the  sun's  aslant  the  west,  its  setting  rays  impart 
A  glow  that  shows  there  still  remains  a  green  and  sunny  heart. 
[205] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

Her  husband,  entering  at  this  moment,  spoke 
and  in  a  touching  and  eloquent  manner  referred  to 
the  love  and  devotion  of  his  helpmate  during  more 
than  sixty  years  of  wedded  life. 

These  were  the  "clouds  that  gather  round  the 
setting  sun"  —  rich  in  lovely  tints,  but  the  prelude 
to  twilight  and  night. 

On  December  22,  1904,  the  Doctor  wrote  me: 
"My  heart  is  full  of  sorrow,  on  account  of  my  dear 
wife,  whom  I  have  been  compelled  to  send  to  an  asy- 
lum, on  account  of  mental  derangement.  This  has 
been  coming  on  her  for  several  years,  very  gradually, 
until  it  became  so  violent  we  could  not  live  together. 
She  is  now  at  a  sanatorium  near  Paterson,  New  Jer- 
sey." He  said  he  was  living  alone  in  the  house  with 
only  a  servant,  and  was  sending  for  his  only  son,  then 
in  Japan,  to  come  and  take  care  of  him. 

Soon  afterwards  he  wrote  that,  though  feeble  and  in 
his  ninetieth  year,  he  was  in  excellent  health.  He 
added:  "The  twelfth  chapter  of  the  Epistles  to  the 
Hebrews  has  been  a  great  comfort  to  me.  Indeed, 
the  Bible  has  been  the  greatest  pleasure  of  my  life." 

Mrs.  Hepburn  soon  passed  from  earth  into  life 
everlasting.  Then,  like  a  flower,  bursting  from  the 
closed  buds  into  a  glory  of  bloom,  the  memory  of 
her  blossomed  again  in  Japan,  diffusing  the  sweet 
perfume  to  the  souls  of  many.  When  news  was 
received  of  her  passing  away,  services  were  at  once 
held  there  in  memoriam,  in  the  Shiloh  church.  The 
girls  of  the  Union  Mission  School  assisted  in  the 
[2061 


REST    AFTER    TOIL 

singing,  and  the  Ninetieth  Psalm,  for  many  years  a 
favorite  Scripture  of  hers,  was  read.  The  story  of 
her  life  was  told  from  various  points  of  view  by 
several  of  the  leading  Japanese  pastors  who  were 
present.  The  beautiful  white  magnolias  used  in 
decorating  the  church  had  been  arranged  under  the 
direction  of  Mrs.  Lowder,  daughter  of  Dr.  S.  R. 
Brown.  They  were  taken  from  the  garden  on  the 
Bluff  belonging  to  Mr.  Samuel  D.  Hepburn,  the  only 
surviving  child,  soon  to  go  to  America  to  comfort 
his  father's  remaining  years.  Many  prominent  for- 
eign residents  were  seen  in  the  audience. 

The   Japanese   remember   those   who   love    them. 
One  of  their  poets  sings: 

I  have  forgotten  to  forget. 


207 


XXII 
MULTIPLIED  HONORS 

IT  pleased  the  almighty  Father  to  give  his  obe- 
dient, loving  child  a  great  surprise  by  permitting 
him  to  see  his  ninetieth  birthday  —  something 
he  had  never  expected.     On  this  day, 

"That  which  should  accompany  old  age, 
As  honor,  love,  obedience,  troops  of  friends" 

were  on  hand,  until  his  seemed 

"An  old  age  serene  and  bright, 
And  lovely  as  a  Lapland  night." 

Yet  all  these  were  leading  him  —  not  "to  the 
grave,"  but  to  longer  Hfe. 

The  first  drops  in  the  rain  of  honor  came  from 
Japan.  It  was  as  much  for  the  gratification  of  his 
subjects  as  for  his  own  pleasure,  that  Mutsuhito  the 
Great,  Emperor  of  Japan,  conferred  upon  Dr.  Hep- 
bum  "The  Third  Order  of  Merit  of  the  Rising  Sun, 
for  services  to  spiritual  and  educational  causes  in 
Japan."  His  ambassador  in  Washington,  Mr.  Tak- 
ahira,  called  in  person  upon  the  recipient,  at  East 
Orange,  to  present  the  diploma  and  insignia.  It  was 
this  act  that  gave  so  much  delight  to  thousands  in 
[2081 


MULTIPLIED    HONORS 

Japan  and  was  the  occasion  of  the  cablegram  pub- 
lished in  the  Japanese  newspapers  (see  page  3). 

On  this  same  anniversary,  a  committee  of  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  coming  over  from  New  York,  waited  upon 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hepburn,  and  in  an  address  reviewed 
their  labors,  from  the  time  when,  in  1840,  he  and  his 
young  wife  reached  Singapore.  It  was  then  shown 
how  their  Hves  had  run  parallel  with  the  whole  course 
of  modern  Japan's  remarkable  history.  Some  of 
the  things  said  may  have  tried  severely  the  Doctor's 
modesty,  yet,  as  he  had,  by  his  record,  brought  the 
infliction  upon  himself,  he  had  to  take  it.  The 
address  —  couched  in  choice  language  and  chaste 
terms    and   rich   in   sympathy  —  began   as   follows: 

"Honored  and  Beloved  Father: 

"We  are  mindful  of  the  habitual  modesty,  with 
which  you  regard  yourself  as  an  unprofitable  servant, 
but  illustrious  examples  of  success  are  a  part  of  the 
moral  and  spiritual  assets  of  civiHzation  and  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom.  The  church  therefore,  and 
the  nation,  nay,  and  more  than  all  perhaps  the  Jap- 
anese nation,  must  be  permitted  to  estimate  your 
work  by  relative  standards.  You  have  been  blessed 
with  a  most  versatile  career,  for  which  you  and  we 
render  God  the  thanks. 

"In  Japan  you  laid  your  plans  at  first  for 
thorough  work.  Foregoing  the  attractions  of  the 
foreign  community  in  Yokohama,  you  and  Mrs. 
[2091 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

Hepburn  took  yourselves  to  the  suburb  of  Kanagawa, 
where  you  found  a  transient  home  in  an  old  temple 
and  away  from  all  foreigners,  that  you  might  accom- 
plish a  real  mastery  of  the  language  and  be  in  closer 
and  heartier  touch  with  the  people  whom  you  aimed 
to  serve.  It  was  by  this  schooling,  that  you  were 
prepared  to  supply  the  first  great  Anglo- Japanese 
dictionary,  which,  like  a  golden  key,  opened  the  way 
between  the  East  and  West  and  hastened  immensely 
the  progress  of  civilization." 

Then  in  the  address  congratulations  were  offered 
especially  upon  the  notable  record  in  that  sort  of 
missionary  service  —  for  the  body  —  which  makes 
the  first  appeal  to  a  non-Christian  people.  Resist- 
ing the  temptation  to  turn  aside  for  the  amassing  of 
personal  fortune,  Hepburn  had  wrought  wholly  as  a 
missionary,  without  emolument.  "Upon  the  visit 
of  one  of  our  secretaries  to  Japan  in  1874,  a  promi- 
nent foreign  resident  of  Yokohama  said  to  him, 
'There  is  good  Dr.  Hepburn,  who  might  have  made 
a  splendid  fortune  by  his  medical  profession,  still 
living  upon  his  small  salary  in  that  nasty  little  house 
down  by  the  canal.'" 

The  Doctor's  zeal  in  the  great  work  of  translating 
the  Bible  was  noted,  and  he  was  pictured  as  "labor- 
ing indefatigably  and  in  all  intervals  and  scraps  of 
time  at  that  great  work,  as  if  it  were  the  only  one  you 
had  in  mind.  There  are  those  in  the  Mission  House, 
who  well  remember  the  persistent  fidelity  with  which, 
even  on  furlough  and  in  the  midst  of  intense  summer 
[  210  ] 


MULTIPLIED    HONORS 

heat,  you  toiled  at  your  manuscript  and  proofs  for 
the  printer. 

"You  were  also  a  preacher  in  Japan.  Though 
without  ordination,  you  were  accustomed  to  hold 
Sunday  services  regularly,  in  which  you  lovingly 
presented  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  to  the  listen- 
ing people." 

Reference  was  made  in  detail  to  the  Doctor's 
great  influence,  social,  political  and  diplomatic,  and 
to  the  appreciation  which  he  received  from  promi- 
nent Japanese,  and  quotations  were  made  from  the 
Anglo- Japanese  newspapers. 

The  ability  of  the  natives  of  Japan  was  gladly 
recognized.  "No  master  builder  ever  had  better 
material  to  work  upon.  Mankind  is  astonished, 
not  only  by  the  military  achievements  of  the  Japa- 
nese nation,  but  by  the  moral  attitude,  the  dignity 
and  honor,  and  the  human  spirit  of  government  and 
people.  The  nation  you  found  in  spiritual  darkness 
seems  to  have  sprung  almost  at  a  bound  to  the  high 
standards  of  Christian  civilization  and  philanthropy. 
What  we  rejoice  at,  most  of  all,  is  the  manifest  leaven 
of  Christian  influence,  which  appears,  and  parti- 
cularly in  the  high  testimony  of  men  prominent  in 
parliament,  in  the  army  and  navy,  and  in  educational 
work." 

A  happy  compliment  was  paid  to  the  "help  meet 
for  him,"  then  under  the  shadow  of  mental  weak- 
ness. "How  bravely  and  lovingly  did  she  bear 
with  you  the  terrible  hardships  of  your  early  voyages 
[2111 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

to  the  mission  field,  the  sore  trials  of  pioneer  work 
among  ignorant  and  degraded  people,  with  almost 
none  of  the  comforts  of  our  home  life,  and  the  hard- 
ships and  discouragement  of  trying  to  overcome  the 
prejudice  and  hostility  which  were  first  encountered. 
What  a  flood  of  sunshine  she  poured  upon  you  and 
all  about  her,  through  all  the  days  of  her  youth, 
and  middle  Ufe,  and  even  until  a  very  recent  period." 

On  this  same  birthday,  the  Book  Department  of 
the  Z.  P.  Maruya  Company,  the  great  pubUshers, 
in  Tokyo,  sent  their  congratulations,  in  a  letter  dated 
June  19,  1905:  "Inasmuch  as  we  have  been  honored 
as  pubhshers  of  your  master  work."  They  added  a 
present,  in  the  form  of  an  embroidered  screen,  with 
their  cordial  good  wishes. 

In  logical  sequence,  there  followed  a  tribute  to  the 
nonagenarian  from  the  American  Bible  Society; 
while  his  Alma  Mater,  Princeton  University,  and  her 
sons  hastened  to  do  honor  to  their  "oldest  living 
graduate." 

The  American  Bible  Society,  May  15,  1905,  "In 
view  of  his  preeminent  services,  as  the  principal 
translator  of  the  Japanese  Bible "  —  extended  its 
sincere  congratulations,  and  made  record  of  the  fact. 

At  the  commencement  exercises  of  Princeton 
University,  June  14,  1905,  Dr.  Hepburn  was  pre- 
sented with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  (LL.D.). 
In  the  president's  Latin  salutatory  dehvered  on  that 
occasion  the  recipient  was  spoken  of  as  "James  Cur- 
tis Hepburn,  of  the  class  of  1832,  now  entering  his 
[212] 


MULTIPLIED    HONORS 

tenth  decade,  the  oldest  living  graduate  of  Prince- 
ton University." 

After  outlining  his  life  and  work,  the  address 
closed  with  the  words,  "To-day  we  tardily  and  inad- 
equately honor  this  venerated  scholar,  translator, 
physician,  and  herald  of  the  cross  in  the  Far  East." 

Later,  on  the  Doctor's  ninety-third  birthday, 
the  future  president  of  the  United  States  thus  ad- 
dressed him  by  letter: 

Princeton  University, 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  March  lo,  1908. 
President's  Room 

My  dear  Mr.  Hepburn,  —  I  am  about  starting  west  for 
Chicago,  but  before  doing  so  must  give  myself  the  pleasure 
of  congratulating  you  on  reaching  your  ninety-third  birthday, 
as  I  understand  you  are  to  do,  on  Friday  next.  I  hope  that 
you  reaUze  the  high  honor  in  which  you  are  held  by  aU  who 
know  you  and  all  who  know  of  your  work,  and  that  you  real- 
ize in  particular  the  very  great  pride  that  all  Princeton  men  have 
in  the  life  work  by  which  you  have  won  such  honorable  dis- 
tinction. It  is  a  real  pleasure  to  have  you  stUl  with  us,  and  I 
know  that  I  am  expressing  the  general  feeling,  when  I  wish 
you  continued  good  health  and  send  you  a  Godspeed  in  the 
name  of  all  Princeton  men. 
With  warmest  regard. 

Faithfully  yours, 

(Signed)    Woodrow  Wilson. 
Dr.  J.  C.  Hepburn 

On  October  17,  1906,  Dr.  Hepburn  received  word 
from  beyond  seas,  that  he  had  been  elected  honorary 
president   of   the  Princeton  Alumni  Association  of 
Japan,  formed  August  i,  1906. 
f  213  1 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

On  January  25,  1909,  the  mail  brought  to  him 
a  warm  letter  from  the  Medical  Missionary  Confer- 
ence in  session  at  Battle  Creek,  Michigan,  at  which 
he  was  not  able  to  be  present: 

"We  unanimously  desire  to  express  to  you  our  deep 
sense  of  the  noble  work  done  by  you  in  both  China 
and  Japan." 

On  October  21,  1909,  in  Shiloh  church,  in  Yoko- 
hama, there  was  held  a  service  commemorating  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Hepburn 
in  Japan. 

Among  the  speakers  were  President  Ibuka  and 
Rev.  H.  Yamamoto,  who  dwelt  on  the  moral  and 
social  transformation  wrought  in  a  half  century. 

A  commemorative  marble  tablet,  in  double  form, 
inscribed  in  Japanese  and  English,  was  unveiled  in 
Dr.  Hepburn's  honor.  In  its  simplicity  and  truth- 
fulness, it  well  represents  the  modesty  and  plain- 
ness of  the  man  whose  memory  it  is  designed  to 
perpetuate. 

The  Enghsh  text  of  this  tablet  reads: 

In  commemoration  of  the  arrival  of  the  beloved  physi- 
cian, James  Curtis  Hepburn,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  pioneer  Presby- 
terian missionary  to  Japan,  Oct.  18,  1859;  by  whose  efforts 
this  edifice  was  erected,  and  by  him  presented  to  the  Shiloh 
church  for  the  worship  of  Shiloh. 

To  Him  shall  the  obedience  of  the  peoples  be. 

An  address  by  J.  H.  Ballagh  followed  the  unveiling 
of  the  tablet.    He  referred  to  the  centurion  of  whom  it 
was  said  to  Jesus,  "He  is  worthy  that  thou  shouldest 
[214  1 


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MULTIPLIED    HONORS 

do  this  for  him;  for  he  loveth  our  nation,  and  hath 
built  us  a  synagogue."  He  dwelt  at  some  length 
on  Dr.  Hepburn's  prolonged  labors  in  lexicography 
and  translation,  as  well  as  in  education,  his  work 
being  crowned  by  his  appointment  as  president  of 
the  Meiji  Gaku-in. 

The  speaker  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  many 
foreigners  and  natives  had  the  impression  that  Dr. 
Hepburn  was  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  as  he  certainly 
was,  though  without  the  sentimental  value  of  a 
diploma,  and  lacking  the  laying  on  of  hands  upon 
his  head  —  even  as  did  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. He,  like  Paul,  was  without  the  "ordination," 
"holy  orders,"  or  any  other  authorization,  except  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  will  of  Christian 
people.  In  a  word,  he  was  an  apostle,  that  is,  a  mis- 
sionary. The  "apostoUc  succession,"  according  to 
language  and  history,  is  a  succession  of  missionaries, 
and  any  theory  of  such  a  "succession,"  which  dis- 
credits Christian  experience,  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  hearts  of  men,  had  little  value  in  the 
Doctor's  eyes. 

"Dr.  Hepburn  conducted  service,  taught  a  Bible 
class,  and  often  occupied  a  pulpit  in  the  absence  of 
the  pastor.  A  further  proof  of  Dr.  Hepburn's  love 
of  the  Japanese  nation  was  his  generous  gift  to  the 
fund  for  the  building  of  the  large  dormitory  for  the 
students  of  the  Meiji  Gaku-in,  which  was  gratefully 
named  after  him,  and  also  a  professor's  house  on  the 
same  ground." 

[215  1 


XXIII 

THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  HALF 
A  CENTURY 

DURING  his  stay  in  Japan,  Dr.  Hepburn  saw 
the  birth,  growth  and  banyanHke  spreading 
of  the  doctrine  of  Mikadoism,  which,  in 
the  hands  of  the  bigots,  the  ignorant,  the  Chauvin- 
ists, and  more  especially  those  who  used  it  for  per- 
sonal and  selfish  ends,  has  had  a  blighting  effect  upon 
the  intellect  of  Japan,  increasing  their  insular  conceit 
and  making  them  blind  opposers  of  moral  progress 
and  real  civilization.  The  doctrine  of  both  the 
deity  and  the  divinity  of  the  Mikado  has  undoubtedly 
been  poHtically  serviceable  in  unifying  the  Japanese 
nation  and  the  various  tribes  and  peoples,  that  have 
become  incorporated  in  the  empire.  Yet,  also,  by  the 
manipulation  of  the  unscrupulous  politicians,  mili- 
tary and  civil,  bureaucrats,  and  men  that  enjoy  the 
methods  of  Russia  more  than  of  England,  Mikadoism 
has  become  an  engine  of  oppression  as  well  as  of 
obstruction.  In  Korea  and  Formosa,  it  has  often 
been,  in  the  hands  of  ignorant  policemen  and  hench- 
men only  too  ready  to  curry  favor  with  their  supe- 
riors, a  means  of  terrorizing  the  innocent  people, 
[2161 


HALF    CENTURY   TRANSFORMATION 

quite  equal  to  the  Spanish  Inquisition  or  the  Itahan 
Camorra,  or  Black  Hand.  In  1912,  when  military- 
bureaucracy  attempted  to  override  the  constitution 
of  1889,  the  people  rose  against  their  oppressors,  and 
struck  a  blow  in  favor  of  democracy. 

In  other  words,  Mikadoism  has  been  at  once  a 
blessing  and  a  bane,  according  as  it  has  been  used 
by  the  unselfish  patriot  or  the  selfish  schemers. 
Mikadoism  has  dwarfed  the  national  intellect,  mak- 
ing it  too  self-centered  and  insularly  narrow,  while 
also  paralyzing  or  sterilizing  the  nobler  aspirations 
of  the  nation.  It  has  taught  the  abominable  and 
false  doctrine  that  Christianity  and  loyalty  are  not 
compatible.  In  some  of  the  pamphlets  and  writ- 
ings of  the  radical  believers  in  Mikadoism,  statements 
are  made  and  arguments  are  used  that  almost  pass 
the  bounds  of  credibility  that  they  could  have  come 
from  adult  men  of  intellect.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
the  Japanese  will  outgrow  this  puerile  superstition, 
without  in  any  way  endangering  the  loyalty  of  the 
people  to  their  chief  ruler,  or  showing  any  lack  of 
reverence  for  the  noble  line  of  emperors  that  has 
filled  the  throne. 

Too  often,  the  insufTerable  conceit  and  puerile 
dogmatism  of  pagan  Japan  has  been  swelled  by 
unwise  foreign  flatterers.  Possibly  even  Dr.  Bar- 
rows and  Dr.  Charles  Cuthbert  Hall,  had  they  known 
the  rustic  and  urban  reality  of  native  life  as  I  saw  it, 
might  not  have  so  flattered  the  islanders.  One  Eng- 
lish missionary  is  reported  to  have  said  that  "he  felt 
[2171 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

it  inappropriate  to  repeat  the  Ten  Commandments 
to  the  Japanese"!  Others  declare  that  he  put  it 
even  more  strongly  than  that  —  he  "thought  it  an 
insult"  to  do  so.  There  are  some  peculiar  people  in 
the  world,  and  so  much  wiser  than  their  Creator. 

A  veteran  missionary  wrote  in  1912: 

"Dr.  Hall  emphasized  the  idea  not  to  European- 
ize  the  Japanese,  but  to  let  them  have  the  content 
of  the  gospel  without  its  Western  form."  Good! 
Yet,  "That,  too,  is  easier  said  than  done.  The 
Lord  rules  in  all." 

Two  great  wars  on  the  continent  of  Asia,  in  which 
Japan  was  a  principal  actor,  were  fought  during 
Dr.  Hepburn's  later  years.  Occasionally  yielding  to 
urgent  requests  for  light  upon  the  subjects  upper- 
most in  the  public  mind,  he  consented  to  lecture. 
His  ideas  were  well  worth  receiving  and  pondering, 
especially  when  the  impressions  of  Occidentals  con- 
cerning the  Japanese  were  changing  with  almost 
acrobatic  rapidity  and  often  lack  of  rhyme  or  reason. 

From  being  interesting  but  amusing  "Orientals," 
"yellow  monkeys,"  "little  brown  men,"  etc.,  etc., 
as  the  ignorant  and  conceited  white  folks  had  once 
described  them,  the  Japanese  were  suddenly  trans- 
formed by  the  newspapers  into  superhuman  heroes. 
Then  again,  Americans,  who  had  hitherto  patroniz- 
ingly imagined  all  "Japs"  to  be  picturesque  but 
harmless,  suddenly  discovered  in  them  giants  and 
dragons,  yes,  even  the  would-be  conquerors  and 
enslavers  of  America.  These  amazing  islanders  were 
[2181 


HALF    CENTURY    TRANSFORMATION 

not  only  drilling  in  regiments  by  moonlight  in  Hawaii 
and  making  kodak  pictures  of  the  interior  of  all  our 
forts,  but  seemed  actually  on  the  point  of  crossing 
the  Pacific  to  review  their  victorious  legions  from  the 
summit  of  Bunker  Hill,  or  the  Capitol  at  Washing- 
ton. So  frightfully  superhuman  had  the  Japanese 
become,  that  politicians  were  seized  with  hysterics. 
Legislation,  that  would  distinctly  violate  our  treaties, 
and  was  therefore  constructively  treasonable,  was 
threatened  in  state  legislatures.  Excited  and  even 
frenzied  apostles  preached  the  dire  need  of  a  colos- 
sal navy.  The  prospective  contractors  of  navy  and 
army  supplies  of  steel,  powder,  shells,  beans,  pork, 
bacon  and  hard- tack  rejoiced.  Manufacturers  of 
war  material  rubbed  their  hands  in  glee. 

How  heartily  we  quondam  dwellers  in  Japan  did 
laugh  at  the  tomfoolery  of  nations!  Yet  neither  the 
shouting  brethren  at  home,  nor  the  diligent  scribblers 
of  Europe  —  who  would  most  gladly  cripple  the 
Republic,  or  weaken  the  islanders  —  were  able 
to  drag  us  into  war  —  not  even  with  Portugal  or 
Mexico. 

Dr.  Hepburn  detested  flatterers  and  never  handled 
the  disgusting  commodity  of  flattery,  of  which  so 
much  has  been  dumped  upon  the  Japanese.  In 
one  of  his  first  lectures  this  master  of  facts  showed 
what  they  had  not,  and  what  they  had,  before  the 
advent  of  foreigners.  He  detailed  their  great  debt 
to  China.  "I  may  say  everything  they  use,  as  well 
as  their  laws,  form  of  government,  and  a  large  part  of 
[2191 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

their  language  and  literature,  was  also  derived  from 
the  Chinese.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  Japanese 
that  they  have  invented  and  originated  but  little, 
but  have  borrowed  largely  from  other  nations  and 
improved  upon  what  they  borrowed  —  a  striking 
feature  of  the  nation  at  the  present  time.  In  this 
respect,  they  are  the  opposites  of  the  Chinese." 

He  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  deeds  of  sale  and  contract  were  only 
valid  when  they  had  a  clause  inserted  that  the  par- 
ties at  interest  did  not  belong  to  "the  vile  Christian 
sect." 

"The  peasantry,  the  largest  portion  of  the  popu- 
lation, uneducated  and  ignorant,  like  serfs  bound  to 
the  soil,  hved  in  great  poverty,  one  half  or  more  of 
the  product  of  their  toil  going  as  taxes  to  their  feudal 
lord. 

"The  whole  nation  was  given  up  to  licentiousness 
and  the  gratification  of  animal  instincts,  with  no 
gods  higher  than  deified  men,  no  religion  better  than 
Buddhism  and  idolatry,  no  morals  higher  than  Chi- 
nese Confucianism,  without  the  knowledge  of  God, 
or  of  accountability  to  a  Supreme  Being.  Without 
the  Bible,  without  the  knowledge  of  salvation  through 
Jesus  Christ,  without  schools,  or  any  of  the  improve- 
ments or  great  inventions  of  modern  or  Western  civ- 
iHzation,  they  lived  a  quiet,  secluded,  torpid  and 
sleepy  existence,  from  which  they  were  suddenly 
aroused  in  1853." 

The  Doctor  beheved  that  the  results  of  the  war 
[2201 


HALF    CENTURY    TRANSFORMATION 

with  China  would  be  for  "great  good  and  to  the 
special  advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  not 
only  in  the  three  nations  of  Japan,  Korea  and  China 
directly  interested,  but  in  all  Asia  and  even  in 
Europe. 

"The  leaven  of  Christianity  is  now  slowly  but 
powerfully  pervading  the  Japanese  people  and  we 
may  safely  predict  that  ere  many  years  have  elapsed, 
Japan  will  be  numbered  among  the  Christian  nations." 

The  Doctor  noticed  that  since  he  left  Japan,  the 
prayers  and  the  longings  of  the  missionaries  for  the 
past  thirty-five  years  had  been  answered,  for  the  new 
treaties  (in  1900)  gave  Japan  perfect  autonomy  and 
sovereign  rights,  and  opened  the  country  to  foreign 
residence  and  travel. 

"As  the  success  which  the  Japanese  have  obtained 
against  the  Chinese  has  been  almost  entirely  the 
result  of  Christian  civilization,  the  war  will  result 
rather  to  the  advantage  of  Christianity.  .  .  .  The 
hand  of  God  is  particularly  manifested  in  this  war, 
in  breaking  down  the  conservatism,  bigotry  and 
pride  of  the  Chinese,  in  opening  China  to  the  gospel, 
as  well  as  to  Western  civilization.  It  will  revolu- 
tionize Korea,  reform  the  government  and  elevate 
the  people,  and  in  the  end  will  be  a  blessing  to  the 
Japanese,  though  its  immediate  effects  are  attended 
with  much  suffering." 

After  picturing  in  detail  the  great  changes  in 
Japan,  including  the  use  of  movable  type,  daily 
newspapers,  beef,  milk,  butter,  beer,  wine,  hats, 
[221] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

shoes,  linen  handkerchiefs  and  foreign  clothing, 
besides  the  manufacture  of  sewing  machines,  clocks, 
organs,  surgical  and  dental  instruments,  steam 
engines  and  every  kind  of  machinery,  he  said: 

"It  is,  to  be  sure,  like  a  new  dress  [this  material 
civilization]  and  fits  them  somewhat  awkwardly, 
but  they  are  rapidly  becoming  used  to  it,  and  will 
in  the  end  modify  it,  so  as  to  suit  their  own  ideas 
and  tastes.  The  result  will  be  a  civihzation  perhaps 
somewhat  pecuHar,  but  more  in  accordance  with 
their  own  national  taste.  But  not  until  they  have 
discarded  paganism,  turned  from  idolatry,  and 
built  up  their  civilization  upon  the  basis  of  the  reH- 
gion  of  Jesus  Christ,  will  it  be  homogeneous,  stable 
and  enduring." 

He  said  of  Shinto:  "It  has  no  idols,  no  sacred 
books,  teaches  no  moral  duties,  either  to  God  or  to 
man,  has  no  idea  of  sin,  or  human  depravity,  but  has 
of  praying  to  the  kami,  or  gods,  with  clean  hands 
and  bodily  purification;  believes  that  the  spirits  of 
the  dead  go  to  Hades,  or  the  Land  of  Roots,  and 
speaks  of  ascending  to  Ten,  or  heaven,  where  the 
gods  dwell.  Their  gods  are  all  endowed  with  human 
bodies  and  passions,  are  born  and  die,  are  impure, 
licentious,  quarrel,  fight,  get  drunk  and  perform  all 
kinds  of  human  conduct.  Shinto  has  no  monaster- 
ies or  convents,  as  the  Buddhists  have,  but,  con- 
nected with  the  temples  are  priestesses,  young  girls 
who  go  through  a  pantomime  of  prayer  and  wor- 
ship, and  of  making  offerings  to  the  gods.  These 
[222] 


IN   OLD   JAPAN 


IN   NEW   JAPAN 


HALF    CENTURY    TRANSFORMATION 

girls  are  not  vestal  virgins,  but  marry  when  oppor- 
tunity offers." 

On  December  15,  1909,  S.  Kodama,  M.D.,  wrote 
him  a  letter  which  graphically  illustrated  the  rapid 
change  in  Japan,  saying,  "My  whole  country  remem- 
bers you  by  your  name,  'Hepburn  San,'  from  the 
Emperor's  household  to  the  common  people."  Dr. 
Kodama  had  been  in  the  Meiji  Gaku-in  and  was 
there  inspired  to  become  a  medical  missionary,  work- 
ing among  his  countrymen  in  California  and  Hawaii 
for  twenty  years  or  more.  At  the  time  of  writing  he 
was  then  forty-five  years  old,  he  rejoiced  that  his  old 
father,  seventy-four  years  old,  and  his  uncle  sixty- 
eight  years  old,  his  wife's  father  and  his  cousin  were 
members  of  the  Christian  Church,  of  which  he  was 
at  that  time  acting  as  Japanese  pastor.  This  was 
but  one  of  the  many  typical  changes  in  family  life 
in  Japan.  .In  the  long  run  the  nation  will  become 
Christian  by  famihes,  rather  than  by  individuals. 

Further  notable  testimonies  to  the  wonderful  rev- 
olution going  on  in  the  life  of  the  Japanese  were 
given  on  October  21,  1909,  when  the  members  of 
Shiloh  church  held  a  commemoration  service  to  cel- 
ebrate the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  arrival  of  the 
Hepburns  in  Japan.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
this  church,  both  as  to  edifice  and  congregation, 
owed  its  existence  largely  to  the  labors  of  Dr.  Hep- 
burn. The  pastor,  Rev.  Kanamori,  who  presided, 
introduced  Honorable  Shimada  Saburo,  member  of 
the  Imperial  Diet  in  Tokyo,  a  champion  of  social 
[2231 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

morality,  author  of  an  epoch-making  book/  and  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  and  forceful  editors,  authors 
and  orators  which  modern  Japan  has  produced. 
He  held  the  tense  interest  of  his  audience  for  over  an 
hour,  while  reviewing  the  changes,  in  political  and 
religious  life,  during  the  previous  half  century,  since 
Drs.  Hepburn,  Brown  and  Verbeck  had  landed  in 
Japan.  He  contrasted  the  methods  and  results  of 
the  propagation  of  Christianity  in  the  sixteenth  and 
in  the  nineteenth  century.  He  pictured  the  reli- 
gious and  civil  struggles  and  the  agitation  for  Hberty 
of  conscience  in  Japan,  rejoicing  that  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Meiji  era  there  had  been  no  persecution. 
In  his  appeals  for  still  larger  and  freer  social  and 
religious  influences,  the  orator  was  warmly  applauded. 
The  comment  of  the  reporter  of  the  Japan 
''Gazette"  was  this: 

The  speaker's  rapidity  of  utterance  and  steady  advance  of 
thought  was  truly  remarkable.  If  Christianity  has  done 
nothing  else  but  develop  such  a  champion  for  the  cause  of 
purity  and  truth,  it  has  wrought  marvels. 

During  all  these  years  the  missionaries  had  to 
contend  not  only  against  paganism,  but  against  the 
energy  and  opposition  of  hostile  ahens.  Dr.  D.  C. 
Greene,  on  March  23,  1892,  sent  to  the  Japan  "Mail" 
an  article  in  answer  to  severe  criticisms  made  by 
some   anonymous   coward,   under   the   signature   of 

^  Agitated  Japan,  New  York,  1886.  In  the  original  Japanese, 
Kaikoku  Shimatsu. 

[2241 


HALF    CENTURY   TRANSFORMATION 

Hard  Fact,  denouncing  the  servants  of  Christ  as 
''uncultured."  Of  twenty-nine  missionaries  on  the 
ground,  twenty-four  were  graduates  of  universities 
in  Europe  or  America.  Of  the  remaining  five,  two 
were  laymen,  who,  by  their  success,  had  amply  jus- 
tified their  appointment. 

Shortly  before  this  date,  a  Japanese  professor 
in  the  Imperial  University  had  declared  that  only 
three  translations  worthy  of  the  name  had  as  yet 
appeared  in  Japan.  These  were  Senator  Nakamura's 
''Self  Help,"  Mr.  Mitsukuri's  "Code  Napoleon," 
and  the  Japanese  version  of  the  Bible.  Another 
well-known  Japanese  had  described  the  last-named 
version  as  "unparalleled,"  while  all  knew  that  Dr. 
Verbeck,  whose  "version  of  the  Psalms  is  unexcelled 
as  a  faithful  and  idiomatic  translation,"  had  contribu- 
uted  largely  to  the  success  of  Mr.  Mitsukuri.  Dr. 
M.  L.  Gordon's  researches  in  the  field  of  Japanese 
Buddhism,  and  those  of  Rev.  George  William  Knox, 
in  Chinese  Philosophy,  were  deserving  of  high 
praise. 

Dr.  Greene  noted  the  work  of  the  surgeon.  Rev. 
W.  M.  Taylor,  M.D.,  of  Osaka,  who  was  probably 
without  a  superior  in  Japan,  and  the  scientific  obser- 
vations of  Rev,  John  P.  Gulick,  Ph.D.,  of  Osaka, 
so  highly  praised  by  G.  H.  Romeyns,  and  by  Wal- 
lace as  a  profound  thinker  on  subjects  usually  asso- 
ciated with  the  name  of  Darwin,  though  the  main 
work  of  missionaries  has  been  expended  in  work  on 
the  Japanese  language.  As  to  "international  fair 
[225] 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

play,"  he  said  that  nearly  all  the  missionaries  would 
rejoice  in  the  abolition  of  extra-territoriality  (which 
came  about  in  1900).  In  the  country  at  large,  he 
said,  forty  per  cent  of  the  Christians  were  of  the 
samurai  class,  though  the  gentry  or  men  of  privi- 
lege constituted  only  live  per  cent  of  the  entire  pop- 
ulation. Among  the  Christians  in  Tokyo,  nearly 
seventy-five  per  cent  were  of  the  gentry  class.  In 
one  of  the  churches,  two  officers  of  the  government 
held  rank  directly  from  the  Emperor  and  twelve 
held  appointments  from  the  Council  of  State,  all 
Christians.  The  previous  House  of  Representatives 
had  thirteen  Christians  and  the  House  of  Peers 
four,  while  the  followers  of  Jesus  held  an  enviable 
place  in  the  prefectural  assemblies.  In  one  of  these, 
out  of  sixty  members,  eight  were  Christians,  from 
among  whom  the  president  was  chosen.  At  this  time, 
the  touring  missionaries  were  overwhelmed  with 
invitations  to  come  and  preach  in  new  places. 

Dr.  Greene  also  showed  the  vast  benefits,  physical 
and  moral,  of  the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath  day. 
Native  observers  had  noticed  the  frequent  break- 
down of  those  who  toiled  in  the  silk  factories,  because 
of  excessive  hours  of  labor,  that  is,  from  early  dawn 
to  ten  at  night.  It  was  rare  to  find  an  operative 
over  thirty  years  of  age  —  their  prolonged  diligence, 
with  few  intervals  of  rest,  causing  an  early  break- 
down of  the  nervous  system,  rendering  subsequent 
labor  impossible  even  if  life  itself  were  not  sacrificed. 
Christians  had  really  created  the  public  sentiment 
[2261 


HALF    CENTURY   TRANSFORMATION 

which  brought  in  legislation  making  factory  life  more 
tolerable.  Dr.  Greene  concluded  that  "to  be  one  of 
a  company  which  is  able  to  aid,  at  so  many  differ- 
ent points,  in  the  building  up  of  New  Japan  seems  to 
me  a  privilege  and  the  work  a  holy  work." 


[227 


XXIV 
THE  TOLLING  BELL 

UNTIL  his  last  days,  this  lover  of  Japan  was 
as  a  watchman  waiting  for  the  morning  to 
dawn.  He  studied  the  news  and  reports 
from  the  Sunny  Isles,  and  rejoiced  at  every  token  of 
the  coming  kingdom.  In  July,  191 1,  his  bodily 
powers  showed  signs  of  speedy  collapse,  yet  he  lived 
until  September  21,  when  after  many  hours  of  coma, 
he  breathed  his  last.  By  a  strange  coincidence, 
Hepburn  Hall,  in  the  Meiji  College  grounds  in  Tokyo, 
went  up  in  flames  during  the  dying  hours  of  the  man 
who  gave  it. 

About  three  hundred  persons  attended  the  farewell 
services  in  the  Brick  Church,  on  September  23,  some 
of  those  present  being  Japanese,  and  one  of  them 
an  official  representative  from  the  Legation  in  Wash- 
ington. From  its  conservatories,  sent  by  the  ambas- 
sador Baron  Chinda,  was  a  wreath  of  white  orchids. 
Dr.  James  Riggs,  the  Doctor's  pastor,  in  treating  of 
his  personal  acquaintance,  spoke  of  the  sweetness 
and  simplicity  of  his  parishioner.  Very  appropri- 
ately the  graceful  sentences  of  eulogy  were  delivered, 
and  the  life  story  of  the  deceased  told  with  deep 
[2281 


THE    TOLLING    BELL 

feeling,  by  Arthur  Judson  Brown,  D.D.,  one  of  the 
statesmanUke  secretaries  of  the  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions.  Without  fulsome  praise  he 
touched  the  exact  truth  when  he  said: 

"Most  of  us  begin  our  lives  at  a  time  when  the 
work  with  which  we  are  connected  is  well  under 
way.  The  plans  are  all  made  and  the  foundations 
laid,  and  we  simply  continue  to  work  on  the  lines  laid 
out.  Here  was  a  man  who  found  no  foundations 
laid,  but  who  had  to  make  his  own  plans  and  lay  his 
own  foundations.  He  was  one  of  the  constructive 
men. 

"He  thought  there  were  physicians  enough  already 
in  America.  He  felt  that  the  place  for  him  was  the 
place  that  needed  him  the  most,  and  so  he  applied 
for  an  appointment  as  missionary.  Few  had  then 
visited  Asia,  and  those  few  had  not  brought  back 
reassuring  reports.  A  great  part  of  Asia  could  not 
then  be  reached.  The  young  physician  was  thought 
crazy  when  he  planned  to  go  to  one  of  those  unknown 
lands." 

Ninety-six  times,  according  to  the  old  custom  of 
numbering  the  years,  did  the  church  bell  toll,  as 
the  procession  moved  from  that  church  to  the  burial 
place  at  Rosedale  Cemetery — sweet  word  coined  in 
Christian  love  and  hope,  and  meaning  "a  sleeping 
chamber."  There  rests  the  dust  of  Dr.  Hepburn 
with  that  of  his  wife  and  children  —  in  the  care  of 
the  Resurrection  and  the  Life. 

Memorial  services  were  held  at  the  Meiji  Gaku-in 
[2291 


y^ 


HEPBURN    OF    JAPAN 

on  September  28,  191 1.  They  were  largely  attended 
by  students,  Christian  pastors  and  foreign  friends. 
Besides  speakers  from  the  faculty  and  from  other 
bodies  of  Christians,  Hon.  A.  Hattori,  Member  of 
Parliament,  delivered  a  noble  and  touching  eulogy 
of  "the  man  who  brought  Christian  civilization  to 
Japan." 

At  the  close  of  the  service,  a  large  number  of 
"appreciations"  of  Dr.  Hepburn,  reprinted  from 
the  Japan  ''Gazette,"  with  his  portrait  and  pictures 
of  the  Hepburn  Hall  —  burned  on  the  day  of  his 
decease  —  were  distributed,  and  eagerly  sought  for. 
Many  of  those  present  visited  the  scene  of  the  fire, 
and  wondered  that  so  many  edifices  —  including 
a  new  recitation  hall  and  a  whole  row  of  professors' 
residences  —  were  saved. 

For  the  enlightenment  of  those  Americans  who 
still  cling  to  the  traditional  and  often  baseless  stories, 
supposed  to  illustrate  the  lack  of  Japanese  integrity, 
we  may  add  the  fact,  that,  although  the  cause  of 
the  fire  was  not  yet  satisfactorily  ascertained,  the 
Japanese  insurance  companies  paid  the  insurance 
immediately. 

To-day  in  the  beautiful  city  of  the  dead,  named 
from  the  valley  of  roses,  all  is  bright  and  fair,  with 
both  summer's  blooming  children  and  the  symbols 
of  Christian  faith  and  hope.  In  hallowed  concord, 
both  nature  and  art  raise  their  protest  of  the  resur- 
rection hope  against  the  might  and  mystery  of 
death,  even  while  they  recall  Christ  as  Victor.  In 
[230] 


THE    TOLLING    BELL 

the  days  of  his  flesh  on  earth,  Jesus  loved  the 
flowers  of  the  field  which  his  Father  had  clothed  in 
more  than  regal  beauty.  Of  the  bloom  of  plant 
and  tree,  Dr.  Hepburn  was  all  his  life  a  passion- 
ate lover.  As  one  looks  upon  the  mounds  of  the 
beloved  physician  and  his  helpmate,  faith  makes 
audible  again  the  words  to  each,  "Well  done,  good 
and  faithful  servant  .  .  .  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of 
thy  Lord." 


[231] 


INDEX 


A.B.C.F.M.,  2S 
Abeel,  David,  40,  50,  57,  63 
Adams,  Will,  176 
Alexander,  J.  Addison,  14 
Allen,  Horace  N.,  153 
Allen,  Young  J.,  99,  100,  153 
American  Bible  Society,   133,   212 
Americans  in  the  Far  East,  44,  48, 

53,  54.  56,  77 
Anti-christian  edicts,  145 
Apostles,  2 IS 
Apostles'  Creed,  182 
Appenzeller,  Henry  Gerhart,  8 
Armstrong,  Richard,  21 
Asia,  229 

Asiatic  Society  of  Japan,  204 
Assam,  141,  166 
Assassination,  157 
American  Tract  Society,  156 


Bailey,  Rev.,  180 

Ballagh,  Rev.  James  H.,  141,  172, 

177,  179,  181,  iQS,  214 
Banzai,  165 
Baptists,  141 
Barrows,  Dr.,  217 
Batavia,  47,  48,  131 
Berry,  Dr.  J.  C,  124 
Bettelheim,  Dr.,  140 
Bible,  65,   loi,   137-149,  154,  160- 

167,  188,  192,  206 
Bible  dictionary,  157 
Bible  training  school,  153 
Birds,  34,  35,  40,  62,  163 
Blossoms,  150 
Books,  224,  225 
Boston,  26,  27,  43,  57 


Brick    Presbyterian   Church,   200, 

228 
Bridgeman,  Dr.,  63,  195 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society, 

140 
Brown,  Arthur  Judson,  229 
Brown,  Nathan,  141,  142,  147,  166, 

167 
Brown,  Rev.  Samuel  Robbins,  8,  52, 

74.   79,   139,   141.    172,  i79>  180, 

190,   207,   224 
Browning,  Robert,  195 
Buddhism,  145,  148,  149,  169-171, 

220,  225 
Burgess  and  Burdick,  179 

Calcutta,  179 

Calvinism,  28,  97,  98 

Camoens,  57 

Campbell  Hall,  202 

Canton,  58 

Carrothers,  Rev.  C,  181 

Cats,  116 

Cemetery,  Rosedale,  229 

Chamberlain,  Basil  Hall,  127 

China,  53-63,  159,  219,  221 

Chinda,  Baron,  228 

Chinese,   25,  46,  47,  51,    64,    130, 

225 
Chinese  language,  96,  139,  142 
Christianity,  69,   71,   74,   145,   187, 

220,  221,  224,  226 
Church  Missionary  Society,  147 
Churches,  156,  178-182 
Church  of  Christ  in  Japan,  182,  185, 

186,  188 
Civil  war,  170,  177 
Civilization,  222 


233 


INDEX 


Classics,  17 

Clay,  Slay  tor,  11 

Climate,  150,  153 

Cochran,  George,  143,  151,  i5S.  164 

Code  Napoleon,  225 

Coleridge,  36 

Commandments,  Ten,  138,  218 

Confucianism,  148,  149,  169,  220 

Congregational  churches,   191,   193 

Constitution,  157,  160,  165,  217 

Contrasts,  189 

Cornell  University,  19 

Cornes,  Rev.,  181 

Correll,  Rev.,  151 

Cows,  8s 

Coxinga,  60 

Creeds,  180,  182,  187 

Cuba,  42 

Culbertson,  63 

Culvert,  Joseph,  205 

Cumraing,  W.  H.,  57 

Curtius,  Donker,  70 

Decorations,  113,  192,  208 

Deshima,  191 

Dictionary,  125,  126,  130,  131-134, 

188,  194,  195,  196,  197,  198 
Diet,  79,  84,  8s,  86 
Disease,  83 
Dispensary,  103,  106,  107,  118,  130, 

181,  184,  195,  198 
Dod,  Albert  B.,  14 
Doshisha  University,  193 
Dutch  in  the  Far  East,  33,  44,  45, 

46-52,  56,  60,  71 
Dyer,  Rev.,  195 

Earthquakes,  99,  187 

East  Orange,  N.  J.,  134,  19Q.  201, 

205,  228,  229 
Echizen,  144 
Edicts,  14s 

Education,  91,  112-114,  144 
EflBciency,  158 
Elder  Statesmen,  132 
Emperor.     See  Mikado 
English  in  Japan,  80 
English-speaking  people,  161,  165 


Episcopal  church,  74 
Ezekiel,  164 

Fauna,  62 

Fayetteville,  N.  C,  22,  25 

Ferris  Seminary,  189,  194,  195 

Feudalism,  77,  82,  90,  91,  175 

Fillmore,  Millard,  53,  68 

Fires,  139,  178 

First  church,  165,  166 

Flags,  44,  14s,  186,  192 

Flowers,  150,  163,  186,  194 

Foreigners  in  Japan,  77,  143,  191, 

194.  195 
Formosa,  60,  196,  216 
Fuji  San,  or  Yama,  174 
Fukui,  144,  14s 
Fyson,  Rev.,  135 

Gamble,  Miss.,  181 
Gamewell,  Rev.,  19 
General  Assembly,  181 
Genesis,  139,  141,  143 
Globetrotters,  114-116,  178 
Goble,    Rev.   Jonathan,    141,    143, 

173 
Gordon,  Dr.  M.  L.,  225 
Goro,    Takahashi.    See    Takahashi 

Goro 
Gospels,  142,  14s 
Government.    See    also    Tokugawa 

and  Yedo  Government,  183 
Greek  church,  142 
Green,  Dr.  Ashbel,  16,  17,  18 
Greene,  Dr.  David  Crosby,  142, 143, 

146,  154,  224-227 
Greene,  O.  M.,  181 
Griffis,  Margaret  Clark,  113,  192 
Gulich,  Rev.  John  P.,  225 
Gutzlaff,  K.  F.  A.,  64-66,  138,  19S, 

203 

Hall,  Charles  Cuthbert,  217,  218 
Hall,  John,  129 
Harada,  T.  Prendert,  193,  i94 
Harris,  Townsend,  i,  68,  69,  72,  73, 

74,  89,  99,  140,  166,  180 
Hattori,  Rev.  A.,  190,  191,  230 


234 


INDEX 


Hawaii,  i8o,  219,  223 

Hayashi,  S.,  184 

Hayashi,  Tadasu,  90,  loi,  117,  118- 

121 
Hearn,  Lafcadio,  115 
Hebrew,  162,  173 
Heike  Monogatari,  126 
Hepburn  Hall,  198,  228,  230 
Hepburn,  Mrs.,  22,  23,  31,  35,  39. 
40,  52,  61,  67,  72,  80,  86,  108,  III- 
122,  151,  152,  189,  190,  191,  i95i 
20s,  206,  211,  229 
Hepburn,  James  Curtis,  ancestors, 
11;    Bible  Class,  156;    birth,  12; 
call,  23;  character,  38,  135,  196; 
children,  52,  67,  114;  China,  61; 
college,     13-19;     decease,    228; 
dictionary,   18;   elder,  150,  200; 
habits,   24,   25,   29,   130;  health, 
7,  8;  hospitality,   114,    115,  125; 
in  China,  53-63;  Kanagawa,  77- 
87;  language,   18;  lectures,  218, 
219;   life- periods,  5,  197;   litera- 
ture, 197;  literary  work,  118;  med- 
ical education,   20,  21;  modesty, 
203;  monuments,  189;  music,i47; 
New  York,   66-68;    ocuHst,   66, 
116,  124,  194;  practice,   21,  22; 
preaches,    128,     129,   211;    pro- 
fessor,   151,    154,   156;   teacher, 
91;  temperament,   29;  theology, 
97,   98;    titles  and  degrees,  19; 
translations,    123-136;    voyages, 
27-49,    63,    153;     walking,    16; 
Yokohama,  99 

Hepburn,  Samuel,  202 

Hepburn,  Samuel  D.,  61,  207 

Hepburn,  Slaytor,  12,  13,  202 

Heusken,  Henry,  81,  166 

Hizakurige,  127 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  6 

Honda   Rev.  Yoitsu,  161 

Hong  Kong,  140 

Hope,  Matthew  B.,  15,  21 

Hospitals,  123,  148 

House,  Edward  H.,  115 

Hutchinson,  Col.  (Mrs.),  10 

Hygiene,  105,  106,  123 

Hymns,  147,  166,  173,  186,  193 


Ibuka,  Rev.  Kajmosuke,  144,  185- 

187,  193.  214 
Ichimoto,  Mr.,  203 
Idols,  170,  171 

Imbrie,  Rev.  William,  181,  184 
Inagaki,  Rev.,  161,  165 
Inari,  171 

Isagawa,  Rev.,  186 
Ishikawa,  G.  S.,  121 
Ishimoto,  Professor,  191,  198 
Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  191 
Iwakura,  102 

Japan,  53,  64,  68,  76,  77,  15s,  165, 

190 
Japanese      and      English-speaking 

people,  i6i 
Japanese  characteristics,  9,   10,  80, 

83,  90,  96,  97,  132,  133,  200,  202, 

220,  230 
Japanese  Christians,  139 
Japan  Evangelist,  159 
Japan  Mail,  196,  224 
Java,  40,  42,  64 
Javanese,  43,  45,  46 
Jesuits,  92 
Jiu-jitsu,  169 
John,  133,  142 
Journals,  203 
Junkin,  Rev.  George,  12 

Kaga  clan,  116 
Kaigan  church,  166,  180,  181 
Kana,  126,  140,  141,  163 
Kanagawa,  73,  77,  86,  90,  91,  178, 

180,  210 
Kanamori,  Rev.,  223 
Keiki,  170 
Keswick,  Mrs.,  203 
Kidder,  Miss    Mary  E.    {See  Mrs. 

Miller) 
Kirkpatrick,  David,  12 
Knox,  Rev.   George  William,   185, 

225 
Kobe,  124 
Kodoma,  S.,  223 
Korea,  64,  88,  148,  151.  i53,  216, 


[235 


INDEX 


Krakatoa,  41 
Krecker,  Rev.,  143 
Kyoto,  144,  193 

Laird,  Matthew,  15,  21 

Language,  91,  92,  93,  94,  96,   126, 

137.  175.  210 
Leete,  Governor,  22 
Legge,  John,  8 
Liggins,  John,  74 
Liquor,  104,  118,  119 
Literature,  126-128 
Livingstone,  David,  66,  153 
Longevity,  197 
Loo  choo.  See  Riu  Kiu 
Loomis,  Rev.  Henry,  172,  173,  181 
Lowder,  Mrs.,  207 
Lowrie,  Dr.,  199 
Lowrie,  Walter  M.,  63 
Loyalty,  170,  174,  217 

Macao,  55,  56,  158 

Maclay,  Rev.,  143,  154 

Malays,  41,  43,  46,  47,  50 

Mark,  142,  151 

Marriage,  197 

Maruya  &  Co.,  133,  212 

Matsuyama,  Rev.,  143,  144,  162 

Matthew,  141,  142 

McAlpin,  Rev.  Robert  Eugene,  153 

McAuley,  Dr.,  193 

McCartee,  Dr.  Divie  Bethune,  72, 

134 
McNair,  Rev.,  185 
Meacham,  Dr.,  195 
Medhurst,  Dr.,  63,  131,  195 
Medical     Missionary     Conference, 

214 
Medical  Society,  159 
Meiji  era,  76 
Meiji  Gaku-in,  134,   151,  154,  183, 

185-188,  189,  192,  215 
Merchants    and    missionaries,    io8, 

109,   112,   I2S 

Meteorology,  150,  200 
Methodists,  166 
Mikado,  3,  19,  81,  146,  174,  192 
Mikadoism,  82,  91,  94,  216,  217 
Mikado's  empire,  the,  150 


Miller,  Rev.  Edward  Rothesay,  135, 

182 
Miller,  Mrs.  (nee  Kidder)  192 
Milne,  63,  195 
Milton,  John,  98 
Milton,  Pa.,  12,  13,  21 
Missionaries,  84,  88,  190,  194,  225, 

226 
Mitsuhito,  The  Great,   3,    19,    102, 

113,  208,  See  Mikado 
Mitsukuri,  225 
Miwa,  142 
Monasteries,  222 
Mori,  Arinori,  157 
Morrison,  Robert,  57,  63,  195 
Mosquitoes,  153 
Music,  166,  169,  186 

Nagoya,  187 

Nakamura,  225 

Native  preachers,  65 

Nevius,  Dr.  J,  Z.,  73 

New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  102 

New  shapers,  i,  209,  211,  224,  230 

New   Testament,     137-149,     154, 

_I72_ 

Nicolai,  Pere,  142 
Nikko,  153 
Nishimura,  184 
Norristown,  22 
Novels,  126-128 

Ogawa,  Rev.  Y.,  148,  186,  193 

Ohgimi,  1 88 

Oishi,  Rev.  I.,  1S7 

Okubo,  102 

Okuno,  Masatusuna,  loi,  142,  147, 

161,  168-176,  184,  190,  192 
Old  Testament,  138,  144 
Opium,  71 
Osaka,  176,  188 
Oyomei,  169 


Panama  Canal,  131,  137 
Parker,  Peter,  63 
Parkes,  Sir  Harry,  203 
Pasadena.  199 

Pennsylvania  University,  21 
Pentecost,  175 

[236] 


INDEX 


Perry,  Matthew  Calbraith,  3,  68,  74, 
92,  104,  141,  180 

Photography,  178,  179,  190,  191 

Physicians,  123,  159,  197 

Piper,  Rev.  John,  135,  143,  147 

Poems,  192 

Poetry,  173,  205,  207,  208 

Pollock,  Samuel,  21 

Population,  155 

Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  54 

Portuguese,  54,  55,  58,  78,  92 

Prayer,  138 

Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, 65,  72,  74,  185,  204,  209,  229 

Presbyterian  Board,  South,  177 

Presbyterian  churches  in  Japan,  182, 

197 
Presbyterian  Mission  Press,  130,  131 
Presbyterian  symbols,  12,  28,  135 
Princeton  Alumni,  204,  205,  213 
Princeton  College,  11-19,  212 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  203 
Printing,  65,  130,  131,  141,  172 
Proverbs,  72,  194 
Pruyn,  Mrs.  J.  V.  L.,  54 
Pruyn,  Robert  H.,  180 

Quimby,  Rev.,  143 

Race  prejudice,  196 

Railways,  153,  183 

Rai  Sanyo,  93 

Reformed  church  in  America,   74, 

78,  158,  177,  178,  179,  180,  181, 

186,  189,  190,  191,  192 
Revised  Version,  162 
Rice,  31,  155,  192 
Richardson,  90 
Riggs,  Rev.  James,  228 
Riu  Kiu,  140 

Roberts,  Edmund,  53,  54,  57 
Roman  CathoUcs,  138 
Romeyns,  C.  H.,  225 
Ro-nin,  103,  104,  105,  109 
Russia,  174,  216 
Rutgers  College,  15 

Sabbath,  226 

Samurai,  76,  81,  82, 97, 168-176,  226 

Sandham  Hall,  185,  192 


Sarda,  183 

Sato,  Momotaro,  116 

Satsuma,  90,  91,  131 

Schools,  113,  192 

Scottish  Bible  Society,  154,  161 

Servants,  80,  100,  11&-120 

Shanghai,  75,  77,  130,  133,  134,  153, 

179 
Sheep,  8s,  86 
Shiloh  church,  134,  183,  188,  190, 

193,  206,  214 
Shimada  Saburo,  223 
Shin  Sakai  church,  160 
Shinto,  148,  168,  222,  223 
Ships,  26,  27,  30,  31,  34,  39,  42,  43, 

S3.  63,  70,  76,  no,  170,  197,  199. 

See  Voyages 
Shogun,  82,  120 
Siam,  Si,  54,  139 
Simmons,  Dr.  D.  B.,  158 
Singapore,  21,  49-52,  64,  179,  199, 

209 
Skeat,  Rev.  Walter  W.,  126 
Soap,  78 

Soper,  Julius,  166 
Statistics,  iss,  156,  193 
Stories,  anti-missionary,  178,  179 
Stronach,  Rev.  John  Alexander,  49, 

SO,  61 
Style,  142,  162 
Sumiyoshi,  184,  197 
Swords,  77,  81,  104,  no,  172 
Syle,  Rev.  E.  W.,  70 
Synod,  i8s,  187,  188 

Tablet,  214 
Taisei  era,  74 
Takahashi,  Baron,  116 
Takahashi,  Goro,  loi,  142,  162 
Takahira,  Ambassador,  208 
Talmage,  S9 
Tamura,  Naomi,  185 
Taste,  86,  201,  202 
Taylor,  Dr.  W.  M.,  225 
Tea,  57 

Teachers,  93,  102,  140 
Temples,  171 

Thompson,   Dr.    David,   141,    179, 
181,  184 


237] 


INDEX 


Thwing,  Dr.,  igs 

Todd,  Mable  Loomis,  156 

Tokaido,  73,  127,  128 

Tokugawa,  90,  117 

Tokyo,  95,  loi,  138,  146,  151,  159. 

186,  192,  226 
Tracts,  134,  135,  156 
Translations,  139,  143,  145,  154,  173, 

188,  22s 
Transliteration,  13s,  188,  225 
Treaties,  53,  54,  180,  221 
Troup,  Mr.,  195 
Tsukiji,  182 
Tyson,  Rev.,  144 

Uchida,  Baron,  3 
Underwood,  Rev.  Horace,  151 
Union  Church  (foreign),  180,  194, 

I9S 
Union  Church  of  Japan,  135,  180, 

194,  195 
Union  Mission  School,  206 
Uyemura,  144 
Uy^no,  168 

Van  Schaick  Hall,  194 

Veeder,  Mrs.  Peter,  192 

Verbeck,  Guido  Fridolin,  8,  66,  74, 

144,  147,  155,  164,  186,  187,  193, 

224,  225 
Versions,  164 

Von  der  Huyde,  Tony,  151 
Voyages,  63,  76,  77,  152,  211.     See 

Ships 


Waddell,  Hugh,  143 

Wallace,  225 

Wars,  218 

Westminster  Catechisms,  12,  28, 135 

Wilkins,  A.  J.,  194 

Williams,  Rev.  Channing  Moore,  74, 
161 

Williams,  Rev.  James,  161 

Williams,  S.  Wells,  55,  70,  71,  75, 92, 
139,  158,  159,  195 

Wilson,  Rev.  Leighton,  177 

Wilson,  Woodrow,  204,  213 

Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 202 

Women  in  Japan,  113, 114, 126,  166, 
192,  222 

Wood,  Rev.  Henry,  70,  80 

Wright,  Rev.,  143 

Wyckoff,  Prof.  Martin  Nevins,  186 

Xavier,  Francis,  138 

Yamamoto,  Rev.  Hidetaro,  188,  214 

Yamamoto,  Premier,  116 

Yano  Riuzan,  179 

Yatoi,  88,  158 

Yedo  Government,  89,  90, 102,  140, 

170 
Yokohama,  68,  70,  73,  86,  105,  109, 

no,  I2S,  141,  180,  183,  191,  194, 

196,  197,  210 
Yokoi,  Tokiwo,  161 
Yokosuka,  176 
Youngman,  the  Misses,  181 


[238 


Date  Due 


